I Graduated!!!

Good Morning All. Well, I did it, I have graduated from "Beginner Stained Glass"! As you can see, my project turned out pretty good, better than I had expected. Stained glass is something I have always wanted to learn, and now I am hooked (not to the lead I inhaled, the hobby!). It all started innocently enough last year with some "simple" Christmas gifts for my family that ended up not being so simple. Maybe they knew to get their gifts finished they'd have to send me to school, because the gift certificates I got as gifts last year were what paid for this class.
I was continually reminded of Jeff Foxworthy's "You might be a redneck if..." comedy routine, I think I would've given him enough material for at least one show. So here goes:

• You might be a redneck if you walk into a stained glass shop with an old tackle box for your tools instead of the pricey art supply containers that everyone else has.


• You might be a redneck if your truck is sitting in a parking lot full of BMW's and Audi's full to the brim with recyclables.


• You might be a redneck if the tools you use are from a different century, like the grinding stone and soldering iron that my instructor really got a chuckle out of.


• You might be a redneck if you fill the entire class room full of thick smoke because you tried to get away with using the husbands flux and solder (believe me, there is a big difference between plumbing and glass supplies)!


• You might be a redneck if some of the glass that you use is the oldest thing in the building- and that's pretty old (I took the class with some very nice "retired" ladies) LOL!

Actually, I used the old glass on purpose, my repurposing self likes to have a piece of the ranch in all of my work. We have replaced many windows in this old house, and using the glass in new, fun ways has been a real pleasure for me. It feels as if I am putting a little bit of history into every craft I make. The thick smoke on the other hand was a little embarrassing, especially right after one of the ladies had been asking questions about the health safety of doing stained glass. I still can't figure out why she changed work stations!

But, the bottom line is that I did it! I took myself out of my comfort zone, learned something new and taught those old ladies a thing or two about ranching (I'm thinking they did not leave chicken poop from their barn shoes in the parking lot, I wasn't leaving it in my beloved truck! JK!!). So, even though we came from very different backgrounds we all had one thing in common and that was enough!

I have always been one to just teach myself anything new that I wanted to try, but stained glass is a very difficult art. I learned more than just how to cut glass though, I learned that I don't always have to learn things the hard way. It was kind of nice learning from someone else, and not struggling through just because it may save a buck or is out of my comfort zone. There are just things in life that are easier learned in a class room type situation, it made the art much more fun for me.

I would highly recommend all of you to take some sort of continuing education. Whether it be something for work or just to broaden our own minds, there are classes out there for everything, and can fit almost any one's schedule. It is worth the satisfaction, even if you look like a dork doing it!!!