The Delphi Blog

Here's our list of 5 Favorite New Items from the May 2012 edition of Stained Glass News. 1. Hot, Hot, Hot by Christine Stewart Celebrated glass artist Christine Stewart brings us a long-anticipated new title. In her signature mosaic style she serves up 18 projects ranging from fused glass dinnerware to stunning mosaic wall art created with fused inclusions. 2. Inspired by Frankye Cartner and Suzy Huber This stained glass pattern portfolio contains 16 designs for panels in a variety of themes. Each project includes recommendations for using wire, bevels or other accents, and a suggested enlargement size. Projects are certain to provide a fun challenge for beginners and intermediate artists alike. 3. Assembling 3D art just got easier with Handy Wedges These simple non-slip foam rubber blocks offer the perfect solution when you find yourself in need of another set of hands. The triangular shape lends itself to supporting boxes, panels, or nearly any shape as you assemble and solder your projects, all by simply aligning the wedges in different configurations. 4. New Fusible System 96 Glass Colors #X21176 Chocolate Opal #X226

To celebrate the end of the year for Boy Scout Den 41 in Tampa, Florida, the kids had a Mosaic in the Park party. Using stained glass chips nipped into triangles, each boy made a mosaic picture frame for his mom for Mother's Day. The boys wrote personal messages to their mothers on the back of the frames. Their troop leader grouted the frames, and each child had a hand-made mosaic project for Mother's Day. The kids loved making them, and the moms loved the frames. This is a very easy project. It requires no glass cutting by the kids, and no previous mosaic experience. Time saving tips: 1. Draw a border around the edges of the frame and instruct the children not to go past the line - this allows room for grouting the edge. 2. Nip chips into triangles, and nip 1/2 of those triangles into smaller triangles. First the children make designs with the larger triangles, then they fill in any extra space with the smaller triangles. 3. Squeeze a white craft glue all over the frame (instead of adding glue to each individual piece). Go back with more glue once the children have made their original designs, to show them where to fill in with extra pieces. 4. Flat projects

My husband and I recently met a spectacular couple, a genuine cowgirl and cowboy. Besides being fortunate enough to purchase a very sweet horse from them, we are proud to be able to call them our friends. While at their home I learned that her one of her best friends, her horse, had passed away the previous year. "Yoda" had carried her though years on the Rainbow Riders drill flag team, taken her to reigning championships, and safety along countless miles of trails. I wanted to do something special for her, and also try something new for me. I remembered seeing an article in the Delphi newsletter about making fused glass silhouettes from a photograph. While at her home I snuck a picture of her and Yoda sliding to victory, on my cell phone. I downloaded the picture and adjusted it to an appropriate size for a 10 by 10 square plate mold from Delphi. I cut out the image and traced it onto my black iridized COE 90 glass. I used amber streakies and amber clear COE 90 glass, behind the silhouette and border, to thicken the plate with color. I traced my silhouette and began cutting it out with my Taurus 3 Glass Ring Saw . I don't have the special separator blade for the

Inspiration can come from so many places . Sometimes a word or a picture will stir a memory. As I trace the thread of a memory it often weaves a tapestry in my mind of vivid images, ready to be transformed into art. A few words triggered such a moment recently when I remembered a favorite childhood book that Id shared with my children, Frederick by Leo Lionni. I went searching through the bookshelf of childrens books in our home that we'd kept even after the children had outgrown them. I found Frederick, and began flipping through it. Next I picked up The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and paged through the beautiful illustrations. Sometime later I emerged from my journey through The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, and The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. I was flooded with ideas and inspiration for projects. The experience brought a smile to my face as I realized that the simple little story of Frederick had been an inspiration my life through. Much like Frederick, Ive always labored to collect colors and imagery, things that arent always tangible but have a value all the same. What things from your me

D & L Art Glass in St. Augustine, FL, will be hosting renowned glass artist David Alcala in its studio on October 6 and 7, 2012. David will be sharing his innovative techniques of working with frit in the vertical along with his revolutionary new product Flexi-Glass . Join D L for Davids Sand To Glass Tour 2012 and walk away with a new sense of creativity and inspiration.

The Crafts Report Magazine is currently sponsoring a Cover Contest for its October edition. Through the end of May, contestants can post photos of their best work on to The Crafts Report Facebook page wall for a chance to win. Read the complete contest details for more information. Crafts Report staff will choose the preliminary finalists, but Facebook fans will ultimately choose the winner by voting for their favorites.

Delphi associates are raving about the new Bend It Molds from Creative Paradise . The clever design makes it easy to fuse projects that stand up on their own, and the mold comes in three different sizes, Large, Medium and Small (or Baby Bend It .) The picture frame for mom (top left) was made by glass artist Denise Christmas-Gibson using the Medium Bend It Mold . The Father's Day golf project (at right) was also created by Denise using the Large Bend It Mold . What would you make with this mold?

Katalin Szabo completed a 9,000 piece jigsaw puzzle about a year ago , and found herself bored by completion. The puzzle lacked the creativity Szabo was seeking. Her husband suggested she learn the art of stained glass and now she's hooked! This was her first stained glass lampshade (we were impressed to say the least). Szabo says she made all the mistakes possible in the process of making her lamp, but learned a lot in the process! What did you learn in the process of making your first lamp? Tell us in the comments section below, and on Friday, May 11, we'll pick one person to receive Making Stained Glass Lamps book , complete with full-sized patterns!

1. Blogs Sites like blogger.com and wordpress.com make setting up a blog free and easy. Its a great way for students to create online portfolios of their work and document the creative process. Teachers can also use blogging sites to create free mini-websites for their classrooms to post assignments and encourage student interaction. 2. Flickr Flickr is an online image gallery, where teachers can share images of their students work. You can adjust the privacy settings to keep your gallery private, public to some groups, or completely public. Visit Delphis Flickr site for inspiration. Flickrs Creative Commons section is also an excellent resource for royalty-free images that you can use in PowerPoint presentations and projects. 3. YouTube YouTube is a great resource for free videos on almost any topic. More than 200,000 videos are uploaded per day, and chances are, your favorite business probably has its own channel. The Delphi Glass channe l has more than 130 instructional videos for learning new techniques in art glass. YouTube for Schools provides schools access to hundreds of thousands of free educational videos from YouTube EDU. These vi

1. Blogs Sites like blogger.com and wordpress.com make setting up a blog free and easy. Its a great way for studios to create online portfolios of their work and document the creative process. Use a blogging site as a free mini-website for your business. 2. Facebook Facebook is a social networking service that makes it easy to keep in touch with friends and family. With 1 in 7 people on the planet on Facebook, its also a great platform for promoting your business and finding new customers. Find out how to set up a Facebook page for your business. Here are a few good examples of art glass businesses on Facebook: Momma Mosaics (photo top left) Stained Glass Creations and Beyond Steider Studios 3. Flickr Flickr is an online image gallery, where studios can share images from store events, classes, students work, etc. You can adjust the privacy settings to keep your gallery private, public to some groups, or completely public. Visit Delphis Flickr site for inspiration. 4. YouTube YouTube is a great resource for free videos on almost any topic. More than 200,000 videos are uploaded per day, and chances are, your favorite business probably

I know I'll never get up the nerve to open my kiln to rake . Instead, I was wondering, can I fake...I mean, rake it? I was recently in Monterey, CA visiting a shop on Cannery Row, where glass artist David Alcala is usually busy at work. The day I visited, he was out (at the Glass Art Bead Expo) promoting his new book and Flexi-Glass . His lovely wife was holding down the fort and I marveled at his landscapes made with fine glass frit. I knew I had a lot of Uroboros frit and powder at home, and it inspired me to try and fake a kiln rake with frit. I laid out a sheet of newspaper, and donned my goggles and face mask . I cut out a 10-inch transparent glass circle, so I would have a double-sided plate. Next, I sprinkled a bunch of purple powder, then white, and purple again, gently patting down the mounds with my fingers. I then added a squiggley line of bejeweled frit. From there, I included Uroboros fine frit in white, purple, then sprinkled on some more bejeweled frit. I used a paint brush to gently move the frit across the plate, blending one color into another. Next came the big move. How was I going to get this thing into the kiln