The SGAA Stained Glass School

Today I received an email from the Stained Glass Association of America about their stained glass school and the classes they offer.  A question from one reader asked about their classes.  This was the response from Richard:   Raphael — The SGAA Stained Glass School is designed primarily for advanced education for those already actively involved in stained glass; however, you can check with local stained glass retailers and community colleges for introductory stained glass classes in your area. Look in the phone book under Glass: Stained & Leaded and you should be able to find local businesses that offer classes. 

I love that the association is offering these advanced classes, has full color reference and technical manuals for stained glass industry, and that they are so devoted to the betterment of our industry.

If you are interested in classes, give me a call or check out my web site, linked below.  If you are currently a glass artist looking for advanced training beyond what you can get in your local area, I highly recommend checking these out.  Some of my greatest advancements as an artist came when I pushed myself to a level beyond what I thought I could do by attending classes and workshops like those offered here.

By the way, I am at Art-A-Licious in Adrian today.  Great art show that just keeps getting better.  Stop by and see me!

LINKS:  Stained Glass Classes at Pictures In Glass
               Stained Glass Classes at SGAA
               Art-A-Licious, Adrian MI

Enjoy the day!  Pat

This photo was taken during a glass painting week-long workshop with Peter McGrain in Bennington Vermont.  What an awesome experience!

Todays Goal: Web Site Additions

365 Days Of My Life As a Studio Artist: Day 2

Day 2 Donations:

Todays %:

Donations Running Total: $

Day 2 Growth Idea: Web Site Additions - About 5 years ago I bought into a web site program called StoresOnline because it allowed me total access to my site. Previously I was dependent on web programmers to make changes which meant paying for and waiting for each change. So, I created a Procedures page for our Procedures Manual so Dana can learn to take good photos of my items, put them on the computer, crop them, insert them into my web site, add the appropriate information so they can be sold, and add the information to my Quickbooks program so it will be easy to handle the sale of the items. We have a lot to do today but I will be at Boyne Mountain skiing with my family tomorrow. This will give her plenty to do while I am gone. I am excited about this because, although my web site comes up pretty high during searches, I am not selling a lot of finished items because I don't have enough finished pieces on my site. Most of my sales are for custom work, which I love, but on site sales need to be increased.

My History: After high school I had to decide what to do. Coming from a middle class family, my father worked at Metro Airport, owned a cleaning business at the same time for a while, and helped my mother raise 7 children. I was 3rd. My mother was a stay at home mom and worked for General Motors after my baby brother Jeffrey got a little older. Although we talked about college, the priority when I was growing up was to learn what I needed so I could get a good job out of high school, get benefits, and support myself. During my parents era, and even when I graduated from high school in 1978, you could still get a good job, work there for many years, and retire with a decent income. So that is what I did. I started work at Manufacturers Bank in Dearborn as a secretary, went to school part time at Henry Ford Community College, moved out of the house with my sister and a friend, and began my search of "What do I want to do with my life?".

Today's Business: Giving classes, for me, is a very enjoyable activity. My recent student, Kathy, came in full of energy and ready to go. We started with a traditional stained glass panel, 12 months ago. It was about 8"x10" with a bevel in the center. She took private lessons which allowed her some very devoted time with my instruction. 12 months later... look at what she has done. I have helped her several times in between, visited her home to guide her through some of the difficulty of working with large windows, and talked with her on the phone quite a bit. But, the photo on todays blog is all the work of her hands. Way to go Kathy!

Pat Deere

LINKS: StoresOnline, Stained Glass Classes

Where does the inspiration come from?

For me, it starts with the glass.

Todays customer came in excited to change the look of the front of their home. They had a design in mind that would coordinate with windows they purchased previously. Even with that, having the right selection to choose from makes all the difference in the world.

I just love the colors, the textures, and how the light changes the glass as the day goes from morning to noon to night.

Like a kid in a candy store... I just can't get enough.

Pat Deere

CLASSES: Thursday evening classes will be beginning. If you're interested, email me or give me a call. Click this link for class information... but keep in mind, I am very flexible with the class agenda. And if you are interested in volunteering to work on projects in my studio to hone your skills, you can learn for free (space permitting).

Another successful private lesson!

This isn't actually my student yesterday... but this is how they feel after a lesson. My recent student has taken stained glass before in a group setting. There were supposed to be 8 students maximum and their were 10. That is not a bad thing, a lot of people teach group lessons with that number of students, but what you learn with a large group decreases due to the lack of time the instructor has to help each student.

When Audrey came yesterday, she was having difficulty cutting glass, spending a lot of time grinding, and not at all feeling comfortable with her level of work. By the time she left my studio after a 2 hour private session, she had her project successfully cut out. She had to do very little grinding to make her piece fit. And... she was ready to take it home and foil the edges so she could solder when she comes back for her next two hour session.

At the rate she is progressing, I know we will finish soldering and framing the piece she started and have time to have me help her with some other projects she had started at home. That is the advantage of private lessons. You learn a whole lot more. What you learn is exactly what you are needing help with (not what the whole class needs to know). You are able to finish more quickly and work on other projects if you would like.

If you're looking to learn stained glass and are considering taking classes, call me to find out how we can work private lessons into your schedule. I am sure you will not be disappointed.

Pat Deere

Link: Stained Glass Class Information

Facebook Friends & Free Classes

Vasos Em Mosaico: One of the wonderful things I am finding out about Facebook is the way I can get in contact with fellow artists across the borders. There is a link for a Facebook friend of mine that might interest you. There, you will find a lot of fellow mosaic artists with some very interesting work. Some of it is glass and some use materials other than glass. But they are all a source of great inspiration.

Free Class Saturday: It is raining in Michigan and it seems like a good day to take some time and work on a volunteer project I have had going on. If you are interested in coming to help on this stained glass window, give me a call or email me so I know to expect you. I believe we will start about 9am and work until at least 11am. This is a good opportunity for you to learn and for me to get some help finishing a project that needs to get done. Hope to see you!

Links: Vasos Em Mosaico http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1788915244#/profile.php?id=1788915244

Web Site Update - Class Info

My web site was updated and new class dates are posted. I will be offering during January and February, once a month Saturday classes (for all areas of glass), free stained glass and mosaic classes, open shop time on Thursdays, beginning stained glass classes on Thursdays...

Shown in this photo is a past student working on glass bead making techniques using a hot head torch and MAPP gas. This is a very portable type of set up and takes up very little space. Watch for free bead making sessions in the future.