Sunday, June 07, 2020

Bun(ny)day!

You know, a day on Venus lasts 243 Earth days (longer than a Venusian year), but that's just peanuts to number of days in a quarantine month. We're at, what, 7,994 days so far? 7,995? Ah well, who can remember? 

Anyway, here's how I've been keeping the howling void at bay since I evacuated from NYC and holed up down south--making a giant stained glass jackrabbit. At  24" tall by 18" wide, this is easily the biggest piece I've ever made, as well as my first time working with a patina (the chemical that interacts with the solder to change the color from gunmetal to copper). 




Of course, like everything else right now, it didn't go as planned. It was originally going to be freestanding, without the snowflake-looking glass ("gluechip"), but the weight of the head and ear put too much stress on the neck join, even after I reinforced it with steel. But even if it looks completely different from what I had planned, I really like it. 

I find that doing something with my hands--and shutting off my brain--really helps.

I really appreciated the reminder that although things may not go as planned, they still turn out well.
I think I need to tattoo that on the tops of my hands so I see it before I start sputtering "butbutbut" in emails!






24 comments:

CynthiaMc said...

Beautiful bunny!

Happy Sunday, Everyone!

french sojourn said...


This reminds me so much of when my daughter was quite young, Caleigh and I loved the childrens book; Guess how much I love you? ( The only time I was ever tempted to get a tattoo of the father rabbit swinging his little nut-brown hare.)

Lovely stained glass work, a nice image for a grey days over here.

Stay well all.

Beth Carpenter said...

I adore that jackrabbit. Wonderful way to greet the sunshine.

Beth said...

Nice job, never tried that art form but might.....really nice piece! Life sure doesn't go as planned and at times thank goodness for that. I do like the saying though, as I look back on things....Youth is Wasted on the Young!

InkStainedWench said...

although things may not go as planned, they still turn out well.

Because of the quarantine, I had to cut my own hair. It did not go as planned, unless I planned to look like Annie Lennox.

Just Jan said...

What a beautiful piece! My husband works with stained glass so I can imagine the time that went into creating it.

I subscribe to the belief that everything happens for a reason, although we seldom know the reason at the time. It help keeps despair at bay when I know there is a purpose out there somewhere.

Carolynnwith2Ns said...

Love the big-hopper. Great job
For seventeen years (pre-writing) I was a stained glass designer. My windows and lamps (hundreds) are in homes and churches all over the northeast.

With glass you can't just draw a picture, cut the glass, and assemble. It doesn't behave that way. Glass has limitations. You have to know what those limitations are or every time you drive the wheel across the glass, tap, and snap, it will go the way IT WANTS TO GO not the way you thought it would go.
You learn what works and what doesn't work.
Sound familiar?
Learn what works with words and your pieces will 'break' the way you want them to.

That's your lesson today boys and girls.
I taught classes in stained glass too.

Carolynnwith2Ns said...

BTW OP try black patina on the solder lines. Turns then jet black. It's awesome. Makes the colors really stand out.

InkStainedWench said...

By the way, when I first read today's post, I thought these were Janet's words and that she had evacuated from NYC and taken up stained glass. I was impressed with her many talents!

Of course, I'm still impressed.

Joseph S. said...

I like that bunny! and the colorful "snowflake" glass adds the right flavor. I do feel sad that it is confined to such a small no-hopping space.

Lennon Faris said...

Beautiful! I also love the snowflake glass. What a wonderful 'mistake.'

Alyssa R said...

Like using a black colored pencil to go over lines on a paper drawing? I do that with my colored pieces, and they look SO much better!

Theresa said...

Lovely work!

nightsmusic said...

Beautiful glass! I've dabbled in stained glass off and on for years though when we moved here, I put it in storage upstairs and that was six years ago now. Someday, I might go back to it. I never did anything but geometric shapes though I'd made a few Moravian stars. I'll have to try animals if I ever pull it out again.

Craig F said...

It has been years since stained glass was a hobby. I have a glass router and some horse hoof glues buried somewhere.

I went into the sign business when it was a hobby and it turned into a business for a while. Did some stained glass bar and restaurant signs, then got talked into doing a whole bar with a bunch of glass pieces.

When I moved on it didn't feel like a hobby anymore, but that bunny catches on some parts of me. Good job.

Gingermollymarilyn said...

Lovely bunny :)

AJ Blythe said...

OP, that is gorgeous. I would love to have a go at doing something like that, but with my clumsy skills, the glass mosaic I made (where i was supposed to break the glass, lol) is more at my level.

In Oz, we're going to have the most fantastic gardens on display come summer, because that is where everyone turned their lockdown time to.

The Noise In Space said...

Oh yay, my jackrabbit made the blog!

Thank you for your kind words, everyone! I worry that it's obvious that this piece was reverse-engineered a bit (just look at that awkward "z" shaped piece between the feet!) but it's a fun part of the process. I just started a great horned owl today, actually--we'll see what surprises that piece will have in store!

AJ, it isn't as hard as you think! But mosaics are gorgeous as well.

Craig, do you have photos of the bar? I would love to see it! 2Ns, would love to see your lamps as well--have you seen the Tiffany collection at the New-York (with a hyphen) Historical Society?

nightsmusic, I started with Moravian stars as well. Then I did some origami-inspired pieces, which were beautiful, but had angles that were too awkward for the solder to hold for long. But man, did they look cool!

Craig F said...

Noise in Space you never struck me as a bunny rabbit person, more of a nebula view or some such.

I have film pictures of the place. It was before the days of digital and there are something like thirty boxes of film crap here.

It was a somewhat famous place before the mouse ate Florida, It was Bob Snow's second take of Church Street Station. Many down here curse it as the thing that caused the mouse to attack my dear Florida.

Allison Newchurch said...

That's very impressive, Janet. What will you do with it now?

Panda in Chief said...

Noise in Space, I LOVE your rabbit! Working in glass is one thing I have never tried. The unforgiving aspect to it is a little daunting, also I tend to drop things, so... I love the design! I too would love to see some of 2NNs lamps and windows.

While I already do art regularly, I decided I needed a new quarantine craft, and so took up needle felting. So far, I have mostly made pandas. I guess I'll have to send Janet some pictures of them to see if she'll share them here. An activity where you get to make round, comforting fuzzy animals and at the same time, stab things repeatedly with very sharp needles is very soothing in these troubled times. So far, I have made over 200 of them.

Being obsessive is a good thing for a writer, right?

LynnRodz said...

Beautiful bunny, TNIS! I know how hard it is, my aunt does stained glass Tiffany styled lamps with hundred of pieces. (Perhaps some of your designs, 2Ns.)

Like ISW, I thought this was Janet showing us one if her pieces and again I was blown away by how her 24 hours is more like 72 for us mere mortals.

Btw, I think although things may not go as planned, they still turn out well should be the new slogan at the top of the blog.

Carolynnwith2Ns said...

The Noise in Space
No I have not seen the Tiffany Collection

My claim to stained glass fame ?
An Entire Church.
8 windows. Each 3 ft. by 12 ft. Huge project.
They were themed. Wedding, baptism etc. Had to study religious symbols for weeks to get it right. Because they were in copper foil (Tiffany's) method strengthening them became a challenge.
I DO NOT HAVE ONE PICTURE. Lost in moves:(
Every time I designed or built a window for a church I found great comfort in knowing that for many, many years folks would sit in church and study the glass while words of comfort or joy filled their hearts. Funny how I see some of my words (perhaps) doing that now.
Glass and words, a fitting legacy I think.

Valerie said...

Wow! That stained glass is amazing!