Metal and Glass

The two front windows are pretty dramatic and large. I decided not to fill them completely with stained glass; seemed like that would make the room too churchy. Last year when Mary Ann and I were Asheville, we saw a metal and glass wall hanging. That seemed like a fun thing to try. When I asked around for a metal worker, the unanimous choice was Al McDorman. Although he is extremely busy, he agreed to take this on. He first told me to draw the design life-sized; here it is:

Al bent/forged the two large metal pieces for each window. Then he led me through making the ribbons, always making sure that I didn't grab the hot end or turn the torch on him. I enjoyed making the first two ribbons but was happy to have him make the second two, while I cleaned the right-hand sculpture. It appears that I am quite good at cleaning:

Today Al had me bring along one set of the glass pieces. (I fused the small pieces; since my bigger kiln is not yet hooked up, wonderful Heather at Trendy Beads fused the larger pieces. I am delighted that I had a reason to get to know her better.) I had drilled holes in the smaller pieces but needed to measure the larger ones against the metal:

A few other photos (don't you love Al's ingenuity in hanging the metal from the bucket of the tractor?):

Anyway, Al has a fabulous shop, which is so clean! He hopes to finish his part this week. Ray said that he and his guys would hang the pieces from the ceiling. Isn't this fun?