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You
can read our current newsletter here
on-line each month, free of charge. We
hope you will take the opportunity to let
your stained glass artist friends know
about the newsletter and if you have
students, encourage them to read it.
If
you'd like a reminder when a new issue is
published simply send us your e-mail
address.
In
the meantime, we welcome your input and
support. Let us know if you have tips and
techniques or product information you'd
like to share. |
Last
month, we worked on a rengali transom
of about 9 square feet, we started on the
spa project that will be about 25 square
feet of glass and we started the panels
for the Heritage school which is about 36
square feet.
So we've
got enough work to keep us busy, it's
great, we love the beauty of stained glass
and it's rewarding to get to build some
lovely panels...
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The
annual Big Wheel Race. The whole
neighborhood participates in the race. It
was great fun! Christopher and Christy
know how to throw a party!
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We
hosted an event for Jeanne's Gather-Ring
networking group. She has met some very
interesting entrepreneurs at their
networking meetings..
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| Last
month we showed how to build a four
sided lamp shade. I've been working on a
lamp shade mold and had a problem with the
glue, so I thought I might take a moment
to discuss mistakes that happen and what
can be done to fix them.
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Mistakes
Happen To Us All
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I hope that every student that
we've had for stained glass classes remembers the thing I say so often,
"The difference between a professional and an amateur is that a
professional fixes their mistakes."
Last month I was gluing down some
pattern strips onto a lamp mold. The Silicon 2 that I used on the mold
didn't seem to cure. So I had to remove the strips and start over.
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I figured the Styrofoam kept the silicon from
curing, so I washed and dried the strips and applied them with spray
glue, which worked well.
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I next used some silicone from the same tube to set
one of the angel panels into the framework. The silicone bead went on
perfectly and looked great. There was a bit of a "breaky" quality to the
silicone that I noticed when I applied it to the mold. But the bead was
so smooth when applied to the frame that I figured it was okay.
24 hours later when the silicone should have
cured and was just as it was when it first came from the tube, I was
worried.
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I gave it another 24 hours to cure and it was still
soft. I figured I would have to flip the frame over and hope that the
weight of the glass would eventually pull down and release it from the
frame. I began to turn it over and the panel fell right out onto the
table, breaking two pieces of glass.
So I had to break them out and replace them. I
threw away the defective tube of caulk!
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Before the repair, I washed the glass with a brush
and water several times, turning it over and over since the old caulk
was rather gooey. I finally got it completely clean by throwing handfuls
of sawdust on the glass and scrubbing that with the brush.
I then had to scrape the caulk away from the
wood frame, which proved to be fairly easy since it had in no way
cured.
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The finished repaired panel looks every bit as good
as before and I've even added some extra re-strip to make it a little
more rigid.
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Next, Jeanne found that glue she had used to put
bails onto pendants hadn't cured properly and would easy fall off the
glass.
Turns out that she had picked up the wrong
bottle of glue, it wasn't the stuff for glass. The bottles looked
similar.
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Fortunately, she was able to add a drop of a
different glue and she got a good bond.
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We had to fix a window that got knocked down from
it's place in the studio. Our mistake was not hanging it securely enough
for the spot it was displayed. You can read all about that repair by
clicking here.
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Our worst mistake was when we broke a major window
while delivering it. The mistake was not securing the load well enough.
We've learned from that mistake! You can read how we fixed that window
by clicking here. |
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When we had to replace many colors in an insulated
window, our mistake was that we trusted the client to give us proper
direction and her husband didn't like her color choices. Not much we
could have done to avoid that one, but you can see how we fixed it by
clicking here.
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So what's the point of revisiting these few
mistakes and screw-ups? Setbacks are common and rather than becoming discouraged
by them, we've learned to take them in stride.
We try to learn from our mistakes and we don't
just "let them go" we fix our mistakes. After years of
experience, we've learned to face them and get them fixed as fast as
possible. It's a great relief to just tackle the problem instead of
putting it off and worrying about it. |
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Then, when the problems and kinks
are worked out, all we're left with is the satisfaction of a job well
done.
"The difference between a professional and an amateur is that a
professional fixes their mistakes."
-David Gomm
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