Artprise Entry by the Svelata Foundation

Growth Idea:  Following artists on Facebook is a real motivator for me.  I have been following the work of Mia Tavonatti as she progresses on the mosaic shown here.  This is just a small portion of a large mosaic she is creating as an entry to the Artprise competition coming up in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Unfortunately I will be gone during the voting part of the constest, but I will be back on time to visit Grand Rapids and look at all of the entries.  Any takers, let me know.  I will go sometime in early October and plan to make it a day trip.  If you have the time, a trip to Grand Rapids during the voting period would be a good use of time I would think.

I love the flow of color in this mosaic.  I love the glass chosen to depict the water scene.  And the composition itself is beautiful.  You will find it worth your while to click on the link below and see more pictures and read more about Mia and her foundation.

Today's Business:  My trip to Europe is just around the corner.  I have a couple more patterns I need to get ready and printed off before I go... so that is priority today.  I also need to get some money... exchange my US dollars for some Euro and I have been told the exchange is getting better so that is on my list today also.  I can't even imagine the emotion I will be experiencing when I enter the cathedrals and architecture of years past in London, Paris, Barcelona, Marsielle, and then again in Florence, Italy and Rome.  It is just sinking in that next Tuesday I will be on a plane that will lead me to a place that will undoubtedly change my artwork forever.  Can't wait!

Today's Product:  Classes, classes, classes in October.  I'll be able to start them when I return.

 Pat Deere

Links:
Svelata Foundation, Artprise Entry by Mia Tavonatti

Finally something for my home!

Trying to prepare for my upcoming trip to Europe and I have decided to have Brandi, one of my helpers, work on the transom and sidelights for our  home which has been newly log sided so it will be ready to solder when return.

The glass has been picked out for a while.  I had a general idea of how I wanted the color of the glass to flow,  but I wasn't sure how I wanted it to pull it all together.

This is the design I have decided on.  One of my favorite multi colored glasses by Uroboros, their #6595, will be the basis for the design.  Our name and the ribbons will be cut using Youghiogheny Medium Amber Stipple Glass, #5002.  The ribbon-like pieces will have a contrasting green to pull together the green trim of the house and the hints of green in the Uroboros glass. 

One piece of the Uroboros has a lot of rustish colorations.  I anticipate putting that portion of the sheet around our last name, "DEERE".  On the bottom of the transom and into the top of the sidelights I plan to pull the blues out of the glass.  From there it will be a gradation of green and ambers.

You can see in the photo of the front of our home,  the spaces where the sidelights and transoms will go.  Our initial thought was to put glass in the upper sections of the log fans going across the top of the porch area.  But after rethinking that idea, I have decided against it.  The wood fan design looks great on its own and I don't want to take away from it.

More photos will be posted as I move along.  Pretty exciting for me.  We have lived in this house for 20 years and finally made the decision to stay in it and fix it up the way we want.  So, even though I have been working with glass for 30+ years... there really is not much in my home.  But, that is going to change.

Custom glass for your home could be customized to your taste just like this one has been customized to fit our needs.  For more on custom glasswork, click onto the link below.

Pat Deere

Links:  Custom Stained Glass

Greek Orthodox Church in Southgate, MI

See my posting for my Churches and Chapels web site for more information about this church.  Photo was taken by Dave Lamarand Photography.

Pat Deere

Links:  
Dave Lamarand Photography
Churches and Chapels Blogspot
Pictures In Glass Stained Glass Info.

Wedding Invitation Framed in Glass and Flowers

I have a customer from Ann Arbor I have done work for in the past.  She likes to have the invitations for the weddings she is invited to framed in glass and embellished with dried flowers.

This is the third frame I have made for her and she requested blue glass and a lot of flowers.

This evening I am heading that way so I will deliver this, check the fit on another customers windows before I install them, and meet up with my son who is moving back home.

Full evening at the end of a busy day!

The next time you are invited to a wedding, think about giving a gift they won't get from everybody else.  Although this is beautiful, yours does not have to look just like this one.  Every frame is created around the invitation you bring in and the likes of the wedding couple.

Pat Deere

Sonbahar Resimleri:)... - from Facebook

Growth Idea: Say what you want about Facebook but... I get a lot of inspiration from it.  Check out the intricate artwork on this leaf.  On a normal day, I probably never would have found this artist.  I can't even read the language on the FB page.  But, I can appreciate the artwork that people have posted to it.

The only downside I see is spending too much time looking at other peoples art and not spending enough time on my own.

So... I'm off to my own studio and no more FB till the day is over.

Pat Deere

Links: HEYKELTRAŞ Coşkun ÖZER Facebook Page

Students work donated to give back...

A while back during one of my free classes a student, Cal, worked diligently on this piece using scrap glass pieces I had in my studio and a few other fun findings.  When I was asked for an item to donate to the Art Affair in Tecumseh, I knew what piece to give.  This year I have made it a priority to to give a percentage of my income to charitable causes.  Part of the percentage comes in the way of donated glasswork.  So, thank you to my students for donating your time and for those of you who are local, be sure to check out the upcoming event:

CIS and CAT Art Affair - The Art Affair is a collaboration between Communities in Schools and Community Arts of Tecumseh
Join us on August 31st from 7-9 PM at the Tecumseh Country Club for a great evening of art demonstrations. There will also be art works available to win through a raffle drawing. Mary Rochelle Burnham will be doing caricatures. Tickets for the event can be purchased at the Art Center or at First Federal Bank for $20. Raffle tickets for the artwork are $5 each or 3 for $10.

Donated Item:  Above glasswork to the CIS / CAT for Art Affair Tecumseh.  If you have an event coming up, it is possible we can donate to your cause also.  Just let us know.

Day 163 Growth Idea: Letting people know what I do when I assume they should know already... is a mistake.  So today I am letting you know that along with free classes I give every now and then, I also give classes in bead making, traditional glass painting, sandblasting, stained glass, lamp making, and more.  Check out my classes website for more detail about what you can expect to learn in each class.  I also give private lessons which work out very well for certain customers.  Nobody goes home disappointed.
 
Pat Deere
 
Links:
List of glass classes
Communities In Schools
Community Arts Of Tecumseh:  Facebook, Blog
Art Affair Tecumseh (Article is at the bottom of the page.)
 

Rose Carden Cabinet Door for a Manchester Kitchen

Today's Product:  My customer called looking for glass for a kitchen cabinet she said she had been intending to put glass into for 20 (+/-) years.  These openings were not very big and putting cut glass into them was possible, but I felt there was a better use of that space.  The glass shown here, I call Rose Garden.  It is a picture glass I had made for me from the glass manufacturer, Uroboros.  They made two types of this picture glass, one is the piece shown here and the other is the Iris glass.  Although the glass is one of my most expensive, it is such a beautiful piece that it does not pay to cut it into small pieces, thus saving on labor costs.

So, Saturday, Cheryl was able to walk into the studio, pick out her glass, have me cut it for her while she took off for a few minutes, and when she returned she had glass in the cabinet doors that had been left undone for 20 years.  It's nice when a project can be so quick and still meet my customers needs.  The link to this glass is below.

Today's Growth Idea: Listening to live music is always an energy booster.  This week-end I attended a wedding where the couple hired a Bluegrass band that I don't know the name of that was wonderful.  Honestly, it was not my first choice of music but was perfect for this wedding.  And the musicians were wonderful.  I gained a new appreciation.  After that we headed up to Habitat Ultralounge at Webers Inn in Ann Arbor and heard the Bugs Beddows Band. On their web site they describe themselves:  Trombone - Driven Rhythm & Blues and Funk - Hot, Danceable, Rockin' Rhythm & Blues - Plenty of Vocals, Horns, & Dancing! .  It was all that.  We danced the rest of the night and loved watching the band on the rare occasion we sat down.  What a great energy and idea booster that was.

Pat Deere
 
Links: 
Rose Garden Glass
Bugs Beddows Band
Habitat Ultralounge, Webers Inn, Ann Arbor

Looking for links.

www.PicturesInGlass.net

Today's Business:  Moving right along... getting ahead on my personal stuff, my plans for Europe are almost set, and business is moving right along.

Today's Growth Idea:   What has been working best for me is my web site.  I have been told by "people in the know" that linking is really important to continue to bring up my web site to the top of the search engines.  So, if you would like to share links, please send me an email.  For me, it would be most beneficial if it is a related business.  Stained glass artists, mosaic artists, studios, and supply shops would be ideal.  Even if you don't know how to do it, send me and email and we will help you through the process.  It will help all of us.

My History:  When I opened my studio in Adrian life was still a struggle.  Juggling a business and small children isn't always easy.  But it was important to me as an individual to do that and I think it made me a better mother as well.  It forced me to think about what was important for me to do in my business each day, and what special things I could do with my boys.  On days they came to the studio, they knew if things went well and they behaved, we would go roller blading or bike riding or something fun.  It is how I tried to keep some sort of balance in my life.

Today's Product:  Because of projects I had going on in my studio, classes were pretty hard for me.  When I get back at the end of September, I will once again be able to give stained glass classes.

Check out my class link below to see what options I offer.


 Pat Deere

Links: 
Send an email to Pat Deere for linking opportunities.
Stained Glass Classes

Virgin Islands - Here We Come

Today's Business:  Well, I got a quote sent out to a church in the Virgin Islands.  This is an exciting possibility for me.  They are looking for a very traditional style of glass which means a lot of glass painting, lead came construction, and a design where the pictures tell a story.

In the Catholic church, stained glass windows were used to tell stories of the bible and help people understand through pictures.  Children could see what was happening before they could read and adults could be inspired through the artwork.  For myself, although I know the church is made up of the people and not of the art, it is the art that often initially attracts me to enter a church building.  That is the goal of this church in the Virgin Islands.  Their goal is to have the Stations of The Cross painted on 15 of the windows. 

The 15 Stations this church is looking for includes depictions of the following scenes:

1.   Jesus is condemned to death
2.   Jesus is given his cross
3.   Jesus falls the first time
4.   Jesus meets His Mother
5.   Simon of Cyrene carries the cross
6.   Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
7.   Jesus falls the second time
8.   Jesus meets the daughters of Jerusalem
9.   Jesus falls the third time
10. Jesus is stripped of His garments
11. Crucifixion: Jesus is nailed to the cross
12. Jesus dies on the cross
13. Jesus' body is removed from the cross (Deposition or Lamentation)
14. Jesus is laid in the tomb and covered in incense.
15. Resurrection of Jesus

What an honor it will be, if given the opportunity, to work on my vision of each of the scenes and know that what I have been asked to create could affect many people in a positive way for years to come.

My History:  Writing about the history of stained glass in the church made me feel like going back to my history.  One of my favorite memories of my studio on 115 W. Maumee Street in Adrian was when my mom and Grandma came to visit.  My Grandma lived in Traverse City and didn't come down very often.  She and Grandpa were milk farmers and that made it hard for them to get away.  When they did get away, it was usually for a specific event like a birth, anniversary, etc.  She came when my studio was just opened, not much displayed yet, but it had a very nice look.  This will always be a good memory for me.

Growth Idea:   I have been having a Vicki help me out and am continuing with that still.  She only comes once a week but is a true asset for my business.

Today's Product:   Glass painting brings so many possibilities to a stained glass window.  It can be anything from a traditional style I described above that this church wants, or something as simple as the lake shore scene shown here.

This was a wedding gift for a young couple who visited Lake Cumberland.  The scenes are all simple and beautiful.  This hanging panel includes a piece of rock taken from the shore that a fisherman made of wire is standing on.  The scrap glass used for the frame was chosen because of it's unusual color and shape.  If you have ever been on Lake Cumberland you will know how the lake jogs and curves around in a very unusual pattern that reminds me of these pieces of glass.   This is what makes custom gifts so fun.  They can be catered to fit your exact needs.

LINKS:  Glass Painting classes and Custom Stained Glass

Pat Deere

Arkansas is home for these cabinet inserts.

Today's Business:  Busy days ahead.  Actually, I am getting a lot accomplished.  Don't know if I mentioned it yet but I am working with a church in the Virgin Islands about the possibility of an installation of about 15 windows there.  Pretty exciting.

Today I have to call to figure out shipping costs.  We are considering the possiblity of cutting and painting the glass here, shipping it to the Virgin Islands, then constructing them on site.  Todays goal is to have a fairly comprehensive quote for them to present to the financial committee next week.  More to come on this as it progresses.

Today's Project:  Kitchen cabinet doors heading for Arkansas - Last night I was up until 1am tryng to finish these kitchen cabinet inserts that I just delivered for shipment to Arkansas.  They were a little bit of a rush to get done because my customer had family visiting who could bring the doors to her... saves a lot on shipping and less headache worrying about breakage.  I just got the glass needed on Monday.

Debbie is in the middle of redoing her kitchen.  When she was visiting family and told them about her remodel, they knew she wanted glass and brought her to me.

While in my studio, Debbie was able to look through glass and show me the colors she liked.  Once home, she sent me pictures of her kitchen cabinets and I began to draw up designs.  The glass used was Amber waterglass, green Spectrum opal, orange/yellow Youghiogheny Stipple.   These are a set of 6 cabinet doors inserts ranging in size form 8.5" -17" x 31".

Can't wait to see the photos of the glass installed in her cabinet doors.

Pat Deere

Links:  Custom Glasswork by Pictures In Glass

Wheat doors heading to Ohio.

Although the 365 Day thing sounded like a good idea... as things changed, office staff changed, and my responsibilities changed, time just didn't permit.

Life has been busy.  Getting ready for my trip to Europe and trying really hard to finish all unfinished projects before I go.  We re also in the process of redoing our house - which I am not spending near the amount of time on I should be because of my priorities here.  Not bad problems though - I can't complain - just busy.

The kitchen cabinet doors shown here are for a customer who is redoing their kitchen - wheat is their theme.  They have a door with the wheat theme and wanted their cabinet doors to match.  These were made using clear GNA for the background because of the light texture and the customer wanting their items on the shelves to show through.  The wheat was made with clear textured glass as well with a black patina on the solder.

Simple but elegant.  And, it gives them the custom look they were wanting.  A detail of the wheat is shown here.

Going back to the 365 days idea... I think I will pick it up again at some point in time.  Continue with my history, etc.  It really helps me and hopefully helped a few people along the way.

Today's Growth Idea:  Hiring help where needed.  I have called in Vicki Philo.  Vicki has helped me in the past to keep up on things that fall behind for me.  Important things that I just can't seem to get to.  Usually it has to do with marketing for new business.  She is a blessing in disguise.  Because of the new newsletter I recently sent out, I got a call from a church in the Virgin Islands... YES the Virgin Islands.  We are just in the talking phase but a step in the right direction.  And, yesterday, because of her following up on letters to builders I  talked to in 2007, another job is on its way.  Sometimes I have to remember it pays to have other people do things I just can't get to.

Pat Deere