Glass Alphabet Soup

It's intriguing the way different aspects of our lives can come togther in a confluence of a new idea. I was cruising some blogs yesterday after having spent time in the glass studio. One of the ones I read was "Seeds from my Garden" by Morning Glory... she is the one who does the Alphabet Soup, challenging her readers to make a different list of things they are grateful for each week based on a letter of the alphabet. (I've done this a few times but not consistently... I may choose to play catch up later with the letters I missed.)

Anyway, I had been thinking about glasswork all morning. Then in the evening I was thinking about alphabet soup. Those two things tumbled together in my mind to come up with this: I want to make decorative stained glass boxes that will hold 26 3 x 5 index cards that will each have a letter written on them. I will give these little boxes as gifts with the instructions that the receiver write blessings they are grateful for on each index card based on that letter. Then they will have their very own personalized box of blessings to set somewhere. Any time they have a sucky day they can pull out the pretty box and remind themselves of how much good they truly do have in their lives.

What I like about this is that by basing the choice of blessings to identify on letters of the alphabet it forces me to look beyond the normal list I can rattle off of things I KNOW I am grateful for. While it is all well and good to appreciate my family and my home, my freedom and my faith it is only through doing alphabet soup that I give much thought to being grateful for appropriate medical care (X-rays) or the beauty of the universe (Zenith) or the stillness of a new morning (quiet) or a glass of cold lemonade on a hot summer day (quench).

I'm definitely going to have my own specially made box just for this purpose. I'll start working on it right away. I have some awesome opaque blue glass and bits of mirror that I will weave together with some rose and some lavender and some green. I will make one of the sides in a pattern like a patchwork quilt. I like the idea of having a tangible place to count my blessings as a reminder of all the positives. "When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed..."

I've decided I will move my alphabet soup posts over to my other blog - Life by Design. They feel more appropriate for that venue. So for this final posting on the topic here I will just make a list of all the letters of the alphabet, and then as each posting is created over there I will come back and make a hot link to the appropriate letter. That way I can get to them easily from THIS spot, but I'll have them all gathered where I think they belong.

Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mn Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv W w Xx Yy Zz

Raising a Bead

I spent some time in the glass studio this afternoon learning how to do the final solder work that decorates the piece I've made. Once again I was reminded that I am NOT just making a pretty wall hanging. I am teaching my perfectionist soul to get over those false expectations of results without errors and learning to ENJOY THE PROCESS as much as the outcome in the things that I do.

The teacher I usually work with was not available since he got called in to substitute teach at one of the nearby school districts. However, fortunately for me, the trip out there was not wasted since his wife was willing to show me what I needed to do. (Thanks Nancy!) Then, while I was working one of their friends came by who is a far more advanced student than I. She gave me some tips as well.

It has been interesting to learn these skills from so many different people (Floyd, Ron and Nancy at Gilded Glass have all had input) plus things I've heard from others or read in books and online. Each has had a slightly different approach, sometimes in direct contradiction with what I've been told by someone else. How do I sort it all out? Over and over today I would stop and ask if I was doing it "RIGHT". Repeatedly Nancy would tell me that it was not a matter of right or wrong, but whether or not I was achieving the look I wanted. It was a matter of personal preference how much of a bead to lay.

Allowing my heart to be content with ambiguity does not come all that easy for me. But I can see that this will be an essential element as I continue working to develop some level of expertise with each successive project.

This week I purchased my own grinder and a couple other tools so I will be fully set up to do more work on my own at home. I DO still want input from others, but the reality of conflicting schedules and distance from where I live make it so I can't get to the studio all that often.

So my next item of business is PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE until I feel more confident in each step of the process. Even so, there will still be times when the glass breaks wrong or when I mis-measure or when things just don't fit the way I wanted them to do. Learning to work in this medium has many lessons for me.

Lessons in the Glass Studio

Yesterday I got the last pieces of my stained glass project cut and foiled. Next comes the soldering which I will do (or at least start) next Friday.

I've really enjoyed doing this work, despite a few cuts on my hands and some ruined pieces of glass that taught me that no matter how careful you may be, sometimes the glass has a mind of its own. I've learned a lot about being in partnership with the medium rather than in control of it. I've also learned a lot about striving for excellence without expecting perfection. I believe those lessons may serve me well in many arenas of life besides the making of stained glass.

I'm very much looking forward to learning more about glass work and hope that in a year or two I may have developed the skill to producer more complex work. For now, I'll be satisfied with basic small pieces that I'll mostly give away to friends and family. My main goal at this stage of the game is not to expect to produce any great masterpieces. But I AM producing something precious by giving myself a creative outlet and learning to appreciate my own efforts even when there are flaws.

If there's anyone out there reading this blog who does work with stained glass please let me know, ok? Do you have some favorite sources for supplies? Any special tips to offer to the newbie on the block?

MASTERY

One of the classes I am teaching this summer is "Academic Success", using the textbook "Becoming a Master Student" by Dave Ellis.

According to Ellis, "A master is a person who has attained a level of skill that goes beyond technique. for a master, methods and procedures are automatic responses to the needs of the task. Work is effortless; struggle evaporates. The master carpenter is so familiar with her tools, they are a part of her." (p 43)

Some of us are born with raw talent in some areas. But even then it is usually a matter of POTENTIAL mastery, not the mastery itself. If I have learned anything at all, it is that we have to be able to stand stinking at a task for a while as we practice and refine our method before mastery will come. The novice work is by definition rough and lacking in some ways. But over time, if a person keeps at it, he or she generally develops skill sets than enable mastery.

Last night I spent several hours in the glass studio working on the stained glass project I've been doing. As this is my first ever attempt at working with glass, I am still very VERY much at the novice stage. My seams aren't as tight as I would like them to be. My cuts don't always break clean. In any number of ways my work is rough, bordering on sloppy. I'm trying my very best, but even when spending many painstaking careful hours, what I am producing is pretty marginal at best.

What I am trying to remind myself is that what I am creating in that studio is NOT just a colorful piece of stained glass. I am producing skill sets. I am producing patience. I am producing creativity. I am producing a willingness to be more gentle with myself when I make mistakes. I am producing a sense of connection with other artists. I am producing any number of things that don't show up on my work table. And if I keep at it long enough, who knows? Maybe I can get closer to developing some level of mastery.

But I have to be willing to endure this stage first.

SO many times in the past I have run away from projects because I hated my bumbling efforts. I would flock back to what I was good at, because the sense of accomplishment I'd get there was so rewarding. The problem with hating failure and/or poor results is that I limit myself by being afraid to try anything new.

Blogger Paula Spurr says on her profile: "I am an artist. I am an actor. I am a musician. I am a dancer. I am a lover. I am a writer. I am not very good at any of these things yet, but I continue to do them. Why let mediocrity stop me? The things I'm good at, like rage and laziness, I'd rather stop practicing anyway."

There's a lesson there for me.

Even if I NEVER get very skilled at working with glass, if it brings me joy, connects me with good people and creates things people appreciate - if for no other reason than I made it for them with love, what does it matter if I'm not a master?

I'm trying to let go of my long pattern of perfectionism. I do want to maintain standards of striving for excellence in all that I do. Still, it's time I give up the idea that making mistakes is unacceptable. Missing the mark is just human. I'm going to make lots of mistakes. I make mistakes when I try to cut a new piece of glass and it breaks along the wrong line. I make a mistake when I don't give my best effort at a job I've committed to. I make a mistake when I'm caught up in my own thoughts when I am claiming to be present to listen to you. I make a mistake when I think my life and my problems are more important than some other person's, simply because they are my own.

Whether it's art or work or being human, I want to recognize my mistakes so I can learn from them. In so doing, I can continue to step by step build skill sets to bring me closer to the stage of mastery Ellis speaks of. However, just as important, I think, is allowing myself a bit of grace for not being there yet.

GLASS WORKS

Tonight I attended my first stained glass class. It was great! I'm taking it from Gilded Glass in Walla Walla.

I am NOT an artistic person by nature. I've had a lifetime of defining myself as being the most un-creative person I knew. But I think I am going to enjoy working with glass. I had a blast tonight learning about the different types of glass, then practicing cutting, then tracing patterns and choosing colors for my pieces. I'm doing a sunburst design with mirror borders. I go back Thursday evening for the next lesson and then get 7 hours of studio time to complete my project. I'm excited to see how it will turn out.

GLASS WORK RESOURCES

GENERAL GLASS LINKS
Stained Glass Association of America
Wikipedia entry - Stained Glass
StainedGlassers.com Online Resources
Stained Glass Patterns
Stained Glass Boxes
MY Glass Pals


HOW TO PAGES
How to Cut Glass
Grinding Glass
Foiling
Soldering

TOOLS & SUPPLIES
Alpine Stained Glass
Bullseye Glass
Global Stained Glass Supply
I.S.G.S.
Stained Glass Unlimited
Whitmore Durgan
Wismach Glass Company