Captured Light Stained Glass Studio

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Show schedule!

This is an ever-evolving list, but here are the craft and art shows we plan on attending:

Friday, April 13&14 ART IS ALIVE Fri 6p-10p, Sat 10a-3p
1001 Market Ave North CANTON 44702

MAY 5&6 QUAIL HOLLOW ART, CRAFT & HERB FAIR Sat 10a-5p, Sun 11a-5p13480 Congress Lake Ave HARTVILLE 44632

May 19 & 20 DELAWARE ARTS FESTIVAL Sat 10a-6p, Sun 10a-5p
Downtown Delaware, Intersection of Sandusky and Winter DELAWARE, OH 43015

June 16 (only) CLIFTON ARTS & MUSIC FEST Sat 10a-6p
Clifton Blvd between W 112th and 117th CLIFTON

July 7&8 YSU SUMMERFEST OF THE ARTS Sat 10a-7p, Sun 10a-5p
One University Plaza YOUNGSTOWN

July 15 (only) ART IN THE PARK Sun 11a-5pm
Medina Square MEDINA

July 28 & 29 AKRON ARTS EXPO Sat 10a-6p, Sun 10a-5p
Hardesty Park, 1615 W Market St, AKRON

Aug 18 (only) UNIVERSITY PARK ART FAIR & FOOD FEST
Sat 10a-6p Grace Park, Corner Perkins and Prospect St, AKRON

Aug 25 (only) ART-A-PALOOZA Sat 10a-5p
Boettler Park, 5300 Massillon Rd GREEN

Sept 8 & 9 KENT ART IN THE PARK

Sept 15 & 16 TREMONT ARTS AND CULTURAL FEST Sat 11a-6pm, Sun 11a-5p Lincoln Park, 1205 Starkweather TREMONT

Goals for the week

Will see how this goes. We generally do better with lists of things, then we can fixate on the list. For those of us with adult ADHD, honestly, it's a good thing.

1. 30 more pieces listed.
2. Continuation of the Gladys story.
3. Household--bills, laundry, fish tank, cat box, bird cages, etc.
4. New setup for pics.
5. Project updates.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Free Panel March


Enter our monthly drawing for a free stained glass panel! All you have to do is become a member of our blog (sign up at the right half way down the page...Become a Member) and then post your physical and email addresses. We will draw one lucky winner a month. Enter as many times as you like but you much enter each month for the next new panel.

Be sure to check out our store on Etsy and our FACEBOOK page, just follow the links from here! Good Luck!

Free Panel March

Captured Light Stained Glass
1415 Bank St
Atwater, OH 44201
email capturedlightsgs@gmail.com

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Gladys, the Art Angel

The story of Gladys

We have a HUGE bin of scrap glass. Im talking a green recycle bin FULL of years of scrap pieces cast off from projects past.  The bin has sat in the shop and gotten so full that it can no longer be moved safely. We had the best intentions of trying to repurpose all these forgotten pieces, but never could think of anything to do with it.

That's when we found Gladys. 

I had some foiled glass nuggets on the breaking table and decided to (carefully!) grab a small handful of the shards in the bin. The pieces just sort of fell together.  I quickly ground and foiled the body and wings portions, fluxed and soldered and poof!  There she was!  All she needed was a wire halo, a hanger, some fishing line, and a home.  A window, a Christmas tree,  or...oh yeah. Rear view car mirror!  Perfect!

And thus, Gladys was born.

Why is she named Gladys?  I dunno.  The name just came to me. She's been hanging in my rear view mirror ever since.   Simple really, but the small, simple piece hanging with the few colors dancing in the sunlight just brings a smile to my face every time I see her.

And Gladys has evolved.  You never get the same Gladys twice.  She just loves to change her hair, her dress, her wings, etc.  And she's waiting in all her glorious forms to delight the rear view mirrors of people's cars and bring them a small amount of joy as the light plays through her simple wings.  From scrap heap to rear view mirror, Gladys is sure to bring some amount of blessing and calm to anyone's commute.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

A note about pricing...

We've had some questions about pricing and the factors used in determining the price of a piece that we sell from our shop. A bigger piece, more material, bigger cost, right?

Eh, it depends.

There are several different determinants that dictate pricing for stained glass pieces. Color, number of pieces and style of glass are taken into account.

Color
In the stained glass arena, not all colors are alike. Reds are especially pricey, followed by oranges, peaches and yellows. These particular hues actually require certain levels of gold to get that rich, deep hue.  Some reds when cut will actually show a gold fleck in the cut line.

Number of pieces
Yes, the more pieces that are placed in a panel, the more labor is required to prep these pieces on the fitting board, in the foil process, intricacy of cuts and also in sheer volume of solder used to fuse them together.  Time spent on a piece, no matter what the size, must be factored into the cost of creating the piece. A smallish sized panel with 50 or so pieces might well cost more to create than a larger piece that only has 25 pieces in it. The caveat with that, though is trying to figure that cost.  The rule of thumb with glassers is usually around $3.50 to $4.00 a piece, but the jury is still out on that one. Others may figure around $40.00 a square foot, but with smaller, intricate pieces, that pricing isn't really fair, either.  It's a hotly contested debate in most glass circles, and I'm sure it will always be as such.  Also, bigger pieces with less lines to cut don't require as much labor to grind, foil and solder.

Types of glass
Glass medium is created using various methods.  Machine mold, machine rolled, punch patterned, hand rolled, hand blown, etc.  And these glasses are also priced accordingly. 

Economy
The bigger picture though, is the economical factor.  Stained glass is just ALOT of work.  It requires a certain level of artistry, the patience of Job, an eye for color and pattern and a passion for producing a real piece of beauty, BY HAND.  It's very tempting, however, in light of tough economic times, to try to cut prices in a effort to try to compete with a market that's heavily flooded with cheaply made imports that are factory produced and have absolutely no soul.  We love what we do, and are very proud of our skills. The ability to color match, work with texture, varying opacities and thickness of glass, to integrate minute details into our work, that truly requires passion and soul. And it reflects in the gorgeous pieces that we produce.  When we undercut and try to compete with knockoff pieces from China, we do nothing but cut our own throats.  We believe that there are people that truly appreciate the love and devotion that we place in our work. 

It's more than just a hobby, it's truly a part of us.  And it's our gift to the world. And we'd like to maintain that integrity for generations to come.