Looking Back On 2018

Looking back on 2018 brought to mind the beautiful windows we built this past year. We built 91 windows, and with a few weeks left in the year, we may hit 100! I  have some favorites to share with you. Do you remember the months of cutting hundreds of little pink cherry blossoms? I certainly do. Every one of the four windows were more beautiful than the one before.

Then there were 6 Season windows. Summer and Winter had a double scene. The rotunda where they are displayed is a huge room where they don't look quite as big as they did on the work table.

I had such a great time arranging the glass for the mosaic we named "Argo". It was named after the ship in "Jason and the Argonauts."

What good fortune it was to work on the window "Nasturtiums in the Rain". The green modeled glass was perfectly suited for the leaves. It added an organic feel.

The Poppy window was designed  by the talented illustrator, Lynde Mott. We had the best time working on it together.

The design of the "Tree of Life" was so popular that we were able to build 4 different but similar designs.

It was a thrill to have two pieces in the Springville Art Museum. The "Tree of Life" window was accepted in the Roots and Branches show and "Feast upon the Word" was displayed in the Spiritual and Religious show.

To top off the year, the "Nativity" window was built. I especially like the way Joseph has his arm in a protective manner on Mary and the Holy mother is touching baby Jesus in the same loving manner.

We are finishing the year strong and are already gearing up for a profitable and meaningful 2019. We plan on a year of wonderful experiences including our clients and students. I hope to meet many of our followers this next year.

Asking the Right Questions

There are times when asking the right question helps to find the answers we seek about ourselves. Whether  we are working on a business, a family or on ourselves, it would help to consider the answers to these questions.

1. Am I enthusiastic about this day? It may take some effort to to find something to look forward to on a difficult morning but it's worth it. How about looking for someone to serve? What can I create? How can I make the world a little bit better?

2. What did I get right yesterday? How do I need to step up? How have I improved from last year? It's like leaving a picnic site cleaner than you found it or a tool cleaner than when you borrowed it. Yesterday can be our teacher. Learn from mistakes and make today better.

3. What am I procrastinating about? What's holding me back? What distractions have I allowed to keep me from my real work?

4. Am I taking care of myself? Do I set aside time for brisk walks, rest, healthy eating and regular check-ups?

5. Do I hang out with positive people? We can't choose our family but we can arrange to be around friends and associates who are uplifting and positive.

6. What am I grateful for? It is a good feeling to realize the many good things around us. I have a friend who has a great activity when she is feeling like she has to hunt through the couch cushions for change at the end of the month. She goes around her studio touching each thing with gratitude. By the time she is finished the thankful feeling has overtaken the fear of scarcity.

7. What new things am I learning? Learning something new helps me feel more alive. There are so many ways to stretch our brain even if that means failing at things sometimes. New things are usually hard at first but get easier as we practice.

After asking these questions we may find out some important things about ourselves.  They may even help us find the reason for being.

More Than a Side Hustle

I recently asked myself the hard question. Is my business for real or is it just a side hustle? To help me answer myself I enrolled in the class Starting and growing my Business for Self Reliance. It is a sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and LDS business College.

We learned business skills, principles, and habits that would promote success in our endeavors. Some of these skills include:
1. assess goals weekly by charting commitments and checking in with an action partner
2. Keep a business journal of successes and challenges to evaluate progress.
3. Exercise faith and step outside your comfort zone.
4. Identify customers needs and meet them with unique awareness.
5. Get specific about income and expenses
6. Finding and keeping customers.
7. Improving myself and my business skills.

Not only were we learning but we were helping each other. Someone else's story sometimes sparked enthusiasm for our own ideas. The brainstorming was beneficial to all of us. I learned that personal and business progress is of continuing importance but we don't have to do it alone.
At the end of the course I was able to re-commit to being a stained glass teacher and builder. I can do this. I can and will be successful because there are systems in place, positive habits to form and dreams to bring to reality. It's a committed effort with responsibility that is worth the hard work if each day we are fired up about our dream. It was a fun perk to have a stained glass artist on the cover of the class manual. I'm sure the question will arise again some day but I will be ready. There is a love/hate relationship with art because it comes from within. As Earnest Hemingway said about writing, "You just lean over your typewriter and bleed. "

6 Impossible Things

Friday morning started with teaching a yoga class. Nothing new or difficult.
Then came the 6 impossible things.

I admit to being directionally challenged and my impossible feat #1 was driving to Salt Lake City..alone. Thank goodness for GPS. The stress continued however when I passed a serious accident on the freeway.
Once in town I had to find a parking place. I ended up in the wrong parking garage, but hey, I was parked!
The conference was great.

I found a friend from years ago and was able to learn her story and listen to some awesome speakers. Then to find the car. I wrote down the number and color but didn't realize I was in the wrong garage. Finally after figuring out my mistake, I got lost in the correct one. Fortunately an attendant in one of their official golf carts helped me find my car.
How many impossible things is that?
1. I can do hard things through stress.
2. I can maneuver in traffic to the "big city."
3. I can park and find my car afterward.

Next Day.. I had to hang 2 windows in an exhibit. I had trouble getting the chains even, opening the link with pliers, getting the windows straight. The loops kept falling,  requiring me to climb that ladder way too many times. I was sweating and caring less and less if they hung crooked. Finally it was "good enough" and I was on to my next challenge.
I had the opportunity to teach 23 art teachers from Utah about stained glass. 5 is easy, 10 is chaotic, 23 is impossible, or so I thought. It turned out to be great fun and I met some wonderful teachers.
So lets tally..

4. I can hang an art show
5. I can teach a class of 23 students to make stars.

So now, it's still the second day of the conference. The drive was uneventful and I found cheaper and closer parking. Amazing.

The second day of the conference was my favorite. I have been following Brendon Burchard for years on-line and I was going to hear him speak in person. He and the other speakers were motivating and encouraging. When I heard about the conference I thought it was impossible to attend for financial reasons. I applied for a scholarship on a whim and was accepted. My ticket was less expensive so I made the decision to go .

I was worried about being alone, but my friend Mandy was there and we had so much fun.

Let's see where are we?

6. I can find a way to pay for things I deem important


At every turn, I was astounded at how I was led and protected. Impossible things came to fruition and I became a little more confident.

Not everything was over at that moment. The next day I got so sick, I was miserable for two days. Why? Did I tax myself with the impossible? Did I just catch some bug that was floating around in a sea of people? It doesn't matter. It was worth it. I felt like Alice in the 2010 movie, "Alice In Wonderland" as she recounted her six impossible things:
1. A potion can make you shrink
2. A cake can make you grow
3. Animals can talk
4. Cats can disappear
5. There is a place called Wonderland
6. I can slay the Jabberwocky

I have found, like Alice, that as I do different things that seem impossible, I am willing to try again. I love Eleanor Roosevelt's quote, "You must do the thing you think you cannot do." Cheers to us who keep trying, sometimes fail and continue to preserve. May we slay our own Jabberwockys!

Movies That Feature Stained Glass

We love movies and we love stained glass. It just makes sense to find movies that feature stained glass windows. When ever we are watching a show we always point out all the awesome glass windows. We wonder which ones are real and which ones are sugar glass. Either way they are fun to point out. 

 This movie is "Young Sherlock Holmes". The knight comes right out of the window and starts attacking. It was a pretty cool visual effect. 

 In the movie "Burglar" Whoopie Goldberg and her sidekick meet at Merlin McFly's bar although the name was changed for the movie. The windows are amazing. 

 Marvel's TV show "Cloak and Dagger" features many stained glass windows in an abandoned church. They aren't very religious. 

 "The House With a Clock In It's Walls" has  several windows that move and change.

 "Doctor Strange" features a huge glass window that is also used in the trailer. 

 In "Harry Potter" there was a mermaid window that stole the scene. 

 Our favorite movie with stained glass is "The Santa Clause 2" We liked it so much that we made our own interpretation of one of the windows in Santa's workshop.

 Here is the workshop. I could work here. 

This scene in Disney's version of "Hunchback of Notre Dame" gets me every time. I have basked in the colors of a stained glass window and it's pretty dramatic. 

I hope you have enjoyed our movie memorabilia about stained glass windows. I know there are hundreds of others. If you know of others, let me know. We might need a reason for a movie marathon. 

We are all made of stardust

"We are stardust, we are golden, and we have to get ourselves back to the garden." Joni Mitchell sang the Crosby Stills and Nash song about going to Woodstock with pizzazz. I was taken by the phrase "We are stardust" because it is true. We really are made from billion year old carbon. I can lose myself while gazing up into the night sky just allowing myself to be a part of the universe and realizing all that is possible to learn. While exploring the meaning of life, the time of man and the what it means to get back to the garden,  I find myself designing all kinds of stars.
Just today I took a batch of mini stars out of the kiln. I love the variety of colors and the way they change as the heat melts them.

10 Glass Photo Tips, Learning By Doing

Learning to photograph glass is a trial and error activity. I know there are rules about ISO and aperture settings when you have a nice camera. What if you are shooting with your phone? It's still a valid photo and it gets the point across. As a matter of fact I have seen some awesome phone photos so do what you can with what you've got. We are still learning.
There are some tips that everyone can benefit from.

1. get out the glass cleaner and polish till it sparkles. Dust shows up.

2. Use a tripod. I'm pretty stable but sometimes a sneeze will sneak up on me.

3. Try lighting from different angles. Stained glass has a different look when lit from in front and behind. Both can be pretty dramatic. Even side lighting can look good.

4. Stage your glass in various settings. I have played with black or white backdrops, natural settings and installed windows.

5. Use the reflection to your advantage. I like when the glass reflects the light. It shows up the texture.

6. It's okay to have people in your photos. There is a personal touch when the artist or owner is smiling with pride while holding their masterpiece.

7 Stage on different surfaces. I have shot on a white marble table top that looked great. Out in the grass might be just what shows off your piece.

8. You don't always have to shoot straight on. Sometimes an aerial view, side view or even from underneath can be super fun.

9. Try shooting just a portion of the window for a different effect.

10. The best advice is to use your imagination.

The more you practice, the more you'll learn and the more you'll succeed. And don't be afraid to take many pictures, you can take a dozen bad ones and then get one that's gold and nobody has to know that you took a picture of your finger, or it was blurry...they'll just love the one you show!