No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!

No UPS deliveries on Sunday, so no orange glass. I had to get my glass-cutting fix by re-doing the bottom of the panel. I wasn't happy with the orange-green stuff I had used, so out it went (most of it) and I got out some glass I had been terrified to cut. See all of those ripples? They are very deep and breaking this glass, once it has been scored, is not easy. This glass has a mind of its own. It likes to shatter at unexpected times, or run any which way except the way I scored it.

I cut, and I cursed, and I re-cut it, until I finally gave in and made mostly straight cuts. The finished pieces were held to the grinder to get the curves I wanted, and to grind a bevel onto the back of each piece so I could foil/lead it.  I used part of the orangey green glass for reasons only known to my mind alone.

In my box of tricks I found an amethyst geode slice, and ground THAT down, as well.  No one expects the Spanish Inquisition, and nothing is safe from my grinder!  Nothing.

Hooked on Uroborus glass.

I'm still waiting for the right shade of orange to come along for the koi in my panel.  Gee whiz!  How many different shades of orange ARE there?  Obviously my eye hasn't seen one I like yet, and my glass bins runneth over with every shade but the right one.

In the meantime, the lily pads are working out well, and even though I plan on painting and firing the eyes, scales, and fin spines whenever the right shade of orange happens to get to my front door, I've indicated the eyes with green glass globs which make the fish look drugged out...koi on crack. They are dead-in-the-pan-looking fish right now. Maybe it's the expression on their faces. I have yet to meet a fish with a sense of humor. The snail is a fossil (like me!) but I love her anyway.

The bottom of the pond is pumpkin/green Uroborus (I love this stuff) and the top of the geode slice is where a line of lead begins. This will run "behind" the fish up to one of the lily pads. There will be other stem-like lead lines running vertically in the panel as well. The water glass came for the top of the panel, but my day job keeps me from getting home in time to cut glass.

Koi panel begins

While I'm waiting for some new glass molds to arrive, I though I'd start on the koi panel for the A.V. cabinet door.  I'm using some gorgeous teal blue Uroborus mottled glass for the water.  I found a small fossil at a gem show and thought I'd add it, climbing up a water plant.  The glass for the koi, the bottom and top of the panel should arrive soon.  This panel will be a mixture of lead and copper foil.  It is not entirely my own design...sigh.  Drawing fish is not my forte.