JoanFrances
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« on: April 18, 2009, 10:34:10 PM » |
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You know when I started this wonderfully addictive art form, I like many of you took classes from a local small studio, located not far from my home. It was love after the very first score. Prior to that I had toy with the idea of maybe trying to do stained glass, after receiving a small accent lamp and jewel box from my kid brother as a gift that he had made for me to match my then lavender bedroom.
After being forced to give up my previous passion, of teaching and creating ceramics, I ordered a few books on line about the art of stained glass. Then I went on line and order a catalog from Whittmore Durgin and read that entire catalog from cover to cover. I began making list of what it appeared I would need to start doing glass at home.
Well, now promise not to laugh, I order a box of scrap glass, an old fashioned glass cutter, like they still use in hardware stores and I was in heaven till I opened the box of glass and cut my hand wide open. That darned box of glass sat on my porch as a reminder of what I thought was the biggest waste of money I would ever waste again.
Then 2 years later, my daughter gave me a gift of 7 classes from the shop I mentioned above. It quickly became an obsession. If I wasn't cutting glass, I was reading about it or drawing what I thought would be just about the most beautiful piece of stained glass anyone would lay their eyes on.
After my class money ran out, I was lost, but I wasn't happy with the classes and I found another teacher. He became my idol in stained glass, but because of my MS I couldn't drive to his classes anymore and I became lost again, until I found the wonderful world of on line stained glass forums. I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. A way of connecting to other glassers from all over this planet. A place where you could ask people a question about glass and someone was always there to answere you. Any you could post pictures of what you had made.
I have made several very special and wonderful friends that I enjoy on a daily basis that I could share with, talk about everything and anything we felt like talking about. Had my fair share of disagreements along the way, but I thank God every day for finding this on line means of communicating about stained glass. It has kept me company on days when I could only dream about cutting glass once again, so you know what join in on all the discussions and you never know where it may lead you.
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