The Youngest Active Stained Glass Student

Robbie, one of Deborah's children, loves to hang around the studio. For his first project, he made a hummingbird suncatcher. The second project was an artist's palette from an original design. (Yes, that's right, I said ORIGINAL design.)

In the following photos, he is working on his third project.





















He is really catching on quickly. He does all his own cutting and grinding, as well as his own soldering. I am constantly amazed at how enthusiastic he is about his work, and how focused he is on getting it done.

He pays for his materials and lessons by chipping up scrap glass to make "Sookie's Sea Glass". I pay him $0.80 per pound for this. It is not unusual for him to chip up 15 to 20 lb of glass in a day.

Louis Comfort Tiffany better watch out!!

Notable Quote

Sometimes I come across something that perfectly sums up everything I wish I could put into words. The following is what I try to communicate to my students . . . and to myself.

"There is a vitality, a life-force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open."
- Martha Graham to colleague Agnes DeMille

Rufus - A Foundling By Any Other Name

Well, no good deed goes unpunished.










I was on my way to work at the studio in Moreland on Thursday, and saw a big ole red hound dog ambling down the middle of the road. Cars were screeching to a stop to try and avoid hitting him. He would just look up and mosey on out of the way. I passed him up, but then thought he was surely going to be hit, and I would hate to see him on the side of the road on the way home.




Bottom line, I turned around and went back for him. I spent my “spare” time on Thursday bathing, de-fleaing him and posting Found Dog signs. My “spare” time on Friday was spent taking him to the vet and trying to source out some low cost medications for him.



He is in pretty bad shape. Heartworms, ehrlichia, whipworms, hookworms and tapeworms. On the plus side, he is already neutered, seems to have a great temperament, and is a handsome boy. He looks to be a bloodhound / redbone / coonhound cross. He weighs in at a petite 97.3 lb.


Hopefully, my husband will come around . . . I don’t know of anyone in their right mind that would take him, knowing that they’ve got to do a heartworm treatment on him.

What's one more?

Cathy's Water Lily

Another wonderful use of the medium by Cathy. She surely has a knack for interpreting the movement and images captured in the glass. This water lily and dragon fly are rendered beautifully. The background glass is just fabulous. If only the photo could do it justice!!

Hombre Makes the Big Time

Kate's First Project - Portrait of Pooh

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This is Kate's first project. An exquisite portrait of her first horse, Pooh. She did an outstanding job, capturing the details of the horse's expression. Also, she managed to recreate the precise details of the bridle and reins. The picture really doesn't do this one justice at all. It is BEAUTIFUL!!

Nicely done, Kate!!

Lanie Grace, the Youngest Stained Glass Student

Lanie Grace has been attending Stained Glass Classes with her mother for a little over nine months now . . .












Nowadays, she comes to class sometimes, just to hang out . . . and have a little chat with the instructor . . .






If I'm lucky, I get to give her a bottle and burp her while the class works!! She is a wonderful little girl, and we love having her come by for a visit. Gotta start 'em out young!!

Hazzard at Friday Dog Training

This photo is from our Friday Dog Training class . . .

Left to right - Front Row: Hazzard (Pit Bull), Abe (Cocker Spaniel), Zippy (Papillon)

Back row: Sparky (Miniature Pinscher), Peggy Lee (Australian Shepherd), Callie (Aussie), Hombre (Aussie), Dibley (Dalmatian)

What you can't tell by looking at this photo is that Hazzard was feared by his owner, Brenda, to be "dog aggressive". She was absolutely astounded that he so easily adapted to being around other dogs. We walked him with my band of Aussies, and posed for this picture afterward. Life is good!!

Brenda's First Leaded Panel

Brenda is making three panels, one for each of the big bay windows in her kitchen. She has finished the center panel! It looks FANTASTIC!!





















I just had to throw in the next photo. It captures the essence of Brenda's personality. She is delightful, beautiful and funny. What a great time we have on Mondays!!




















Here's a photo of Brenda with Hombre, me and Carol.




You can't tell that we have a good time together!!

Ann's Carousel Horse

Ann loves Carousel Horses. She chose this beautiful boy for her second project.

She did an amazing job with her textures and color choices. Way to go, Ann!! Another FABULOUS piece!!

Deborah's Portrait of Robbie and Josh

The photo doesn't do it justice, but you can always come by the Studio to see it in person!!


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Deborah has really out done herself again. This is a beautifully executed portrait of her sons Josh and Robbie.

Way to go, Deborah!!

Deborah's Portrait of Steven

Deborah created a portrait of her oldest son for her second project. This is absolutely amazing. I had my doubts about a black and white stained glass piece initially. I told her if she could see it, then go for it!!

I think she nailed it!! Of course, the photo does it no justice at all. The panel is fabulous. Right down to the woodgrain texture she captured on the logs. WOW!!

Portrait of Ali and Rose (Rocky, too!)

Trisha Herring of NiteStar Australian Shepherds (http://www.nitestar.net/) has been one of my staunchest supporters over the years. She has commissioned me to do portraits of three of her dogs . . . so far :-) !! She also saw fit to let me have two of her beautiful girls, Peggy Lee and Callie.

The first portrait Trisha commissioned was of her "heart dog", A-BISS AKC/ASCA Ch NiteStar's Eye of the Tiger, "Rocky" . Here are some photos of that first portrait (my first dog portrait!).





















Here is a comparison of the portrait to the photograph:









Earlier this year, Trisha's husband commissioned me to do a portrait of Trisha's two foundation bitches. Rose and Ali also happen to be the mothers of my two girls, Peggy Lee and Callie. Following are the photos and drawings I used to work up the pattern for the stained glass panel.

ASCA/AKC Ch Navarro's LoveStory of NiteStar, STDs, RS-N, GS-N, JS-N, NAC, NJC, NGC, DNA-CP, "Ali"




















Hall Of Fame and ROMX-I, A-Ch Woodstock's Color Me "Rose" STDs, DNA-CP
















The drawing used to make the stained glass pattern:

Here is the completed portrait. Everyone who saw it in the studio thought it was a portrait of Peggy Lee and Callie . . . they are indeed chips off the old block!!

Carol's Horses

This is Carol's first piece . . . and what a doozie!!
















This is a portrait of her two paint horses, Sissy and Sunshine. Carol did a fantastic job of glass selection to get just the right colors for the horses, the manes and the hooves. Her work is just fantastic!!

Way to go, girl!!!!

Maria's Mustang

Once again, Maria has done a magnificent job!! This one is a "portrait" of her Uncle's Girlfriend, his 1967 Mustang Fastback. Her Uncle's wife commissioned this piece as a birthday present. Check it out!!

He looks pretty happy to me!!





Maria also looks very happy and proud of herself. . . . as she should be!! Very nicely done, Maria. You did a magnificent job!!

Ron's Great Big Ole Window Installation

Ron has constructed the largest student project to date. It is a GREAT BIG OLE window for his bathroom window, over the garden tub. Following are some photos of installation day.

A final polish . . .



Ron, on the left, is thinking, "WOW, I can't believe I built this thing!!"
Bathroom window "Before":
















Not to fear, Sookie is here!!






















This tub ain't big enough for the three of us!!




















Rub a dub, dub. Two men in a tub.





































What can be said about this one, but WOW!! It is absolutely magnificent. Very nicely done, Ron. I know you are very proud of yourself, as are we all!! Thanks again for opening your home up to the class for installation day. We had a great time!

Dog Training Fridays - Play Time

Another Friday Dog Training Session.

Here is McKenzie working with Hombre:

Remember Dibley, the neurotic Dalmatian that spent a week with us? This is Friday, the last day of Dibley's Boot Camp. What a difference a week makes!!






























It is PLAY TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!



















Peggy jumps straight up in the air when she's happy!!