Paula, from the Woodend Barn evening class, spent today at the workshop finishing off her first panel. Not bad huh...

Bench shot - 27-02-08
 
Normally I consider myself a tidy worker, but when I stopped partway through leading up a panel yesterday to take some photographs, I realised that I may have been fooling myself. The tools (leadknife, lead dykes, fid, running pliers and oyster knife), scraps of lead and mess will be familiar to anyone who has worked in leaded glass...

I am currently changing the way galleries are displayed in the portfolio, using a new method which utilises javascript code to display images hosted on Flickr.  I have added a gallery of images taken at the workshop as a test. Over the next few weeks I will be replacing the existing galleries with the new format, whch should allow me to add new images more readily.

Mike Zappert, Huntly Arms Hotel Panel 3

Mike and I are currently re-making 6 leaded panels for the Huntly Arms Hotel, Aboyne at my workshop. The work is pretty repetetive, but we are evolving a system wherein progress is steady. It makes a big difference working as a pair, especially since the conversation is wide-ranging and extends far beyond our shared interests (which include, amongst others, biscuits and Japanese hand-tools).

From a couple of weeks back... 

The workshop is a very cold place to work at the best of times. I spent a couple of days mending the heater and then burnt a tank load of propane trying to warm the space up. Sometimes it's good to be there anyway, like when the snow piles down like this.

I love the smell of leadlight cement in the morning...

One of the worst aspects of working with leaded glass is the cementing of the panel. A viscous, gooey, black gunk (traditionally made from whiting, boiled linseed oil, soot black and white spirit) is forced between the lead cames and the glass. In theory this waterproofs the panel, and adds a little strength. In practice it covers me in viscous, gooey, black gunk and makes me smell like I bathe in white spirit.

Iron shed, near Acharacle

We are in the early stages of planning a new workshop for Morning Glass and I find myself obsessing over sheds of every shape, size and hue. While going through photographs for my Flickr photostream I found this image of a tin shed from the West Coast of Scotland.

Corella and Spectrum coloured glass cut and arranged for piecing

One of the panels I am working on right now consists of a huge number of small glass pieces. In an attempt to avoid drifting into madness, I am taking a much more logical approach to cutting, labelling and stacking glass than I normally manage. The shards of glass, laid out in lines on the bench, make it look like I am carrying out an archaeological excavation.

Rain clearing from the Dee Valley - Morning Glass Workshop in foreground

Spent the morning at the workshop cutting glass for a series of two windows. On the drive over the rain cleared to blue skies, and fog filled the Dee Valley. Sometimes the workshop is a good place to be. Other times, like this morning, it's cold enough to make your teeth ache. Drove home with the van heater on full blast after the workshop heater packed in... 

Today I finally completed the sorting, labelling and restacking of the 200 sheets of glass I bought from Mairi Ewen in September. Jo and I went through most of the sheets in December, on a day so cold we sat on the heater to eat lunch.