SWEET!!!

So today I went onto the internet to check out the news and there was a crazy story! It was about how IKEA had displayed a family  photo without permission. This woman has a blog and posts pictures of her family like many people do. Apparently, there are stock photo companies, along with lots of other people I'm sure, who will go and steal your photos. Someone just happened to see the photo and recognized the family and alerted them. So I googled how to prevent people from being able to do this and found this awesome code:



< script language="JavaScript">
< !--

//Disable right mouse click Script
//By Maximus (maximus@nsimail.com) w/ mods by DynamicDrive
//For full source code, visit http://www.dynamicdrive.com

var message="Function Disabled!";

///////////////////////////////////
function clickIE4(){
if (event.button==2){
alert(message);
return false;
}
}

function clickNS4(e){
if (document.layers||document.getElementById&&!document.all){
if (e.which==2||e.which==3){
alert(message);
return false;
}
}
}

if (document.layers){
document.captureEvents(Event.MOUSEDOWN);
document.onmousedown=clickNS4;
}
else if (document.all&&!document.getElementById){
document.onmousedown=clickIE4;
}

document.oncontextmenu=new Function("alert(message);return false")

// -->
< /script>



So if you have a blog and don't want people to be able to steal your pictures, just copy this code. If you are on blogspot.com, just go into "design" and then "add a gadget" and select "Java script/HTML" and paste the code. Save your blog and Voila! people can no longer right-click on pictures in your blog and copy them. You can even test it out by going into your blog and trying to right-click on a photo. A message will pop up saying that it has been disabled.

I thought this was pretty cool and important, so I thought I would let anybody know who would like to keep their family photos, artwork, etc. safe.

P.S. I am still working on my Eiffel Tower window. I know, I know! It is taking me FOREVER! But I hope to be posting some pictures soon!

A Little Inspiration

As an excuse to not do my homework and to look at something beautiful, (since I wouldn't exactly describe the inside of my textbooks as "beautiful") I decided to post a blog about SOME, and let me emphasize that a little more - SOME!!!! of the things I would like to do or see before my time on this wonderful Earth has expired.

I want to see the tulips and windmills in the Netherlands...

To watch the sun set from a beautiful beach....

To see the Mona Lisa in person....

To see the Northern Lights...

To go to Japan and see the cherry blossoms...

To go to London...

To go to Italy...

To see Van Gogh's "Starry Night" in person...

To go to Jodhpur, India and see the blue city...

To look out onto the Mediterranean Sea....

To ride a bike around New Zealand....

To look up at the Eiffel Tower in Paris...

To ride a camel and see the Egyptian Pyramids...

To walk barefoot on a black sand beach...

To ride a horse in Monument Valley...

...And to have a kitten so adorable that you can't look away...

Still Alive...

I thought I would put out a message to the blogosphere saying that I am still here. I have managed to survive this crazy, stressful summer. In accomplishing that I have sadly neglected my art, and consequently my blog.

I have one more week of freedom before school starts up again and hope to make some progress on the Eiffel Tower window and post some pictures.

My time will be sparse once school starts, but I hope to find a little time each week for my art. My goal is to have a couple more projects done before the end of the year, but as we learned in "The Story of the Lamp," I can sometimes be impractical.

In the meantime, here are some beautiful pictures from oh so long ago, at the beginning of summer, when life was carefree!

The Palace of Fine Arts

Enormous and beautiful

Nearing the Golden Gate Bridge

Fort Point

"The Painted Ladies" at Alamo Square

Going to Prison (Alcatraz)

The view from prison

San Francisco from Alcatraz (So close, yet still so far)

The Golden Gate Bridge while leaving Alcatraz

Lombard St. "The Crookedest Street" (could also be "The Steepest Street")

I don't know why, but this makes me think of the Yellow Brick Road...only it's red

Entrance to Chinatown

Chinatown

Saying goodbye to San Francisco :(

Decisions, Decisions

It is always a hard thing to figure out what I want to do next as a project. There are still some people that I need to make things for, but I kind of want to do something simple and just for fun in between. As kind of a break.

I really love the Eiffel Tower. I hope that someday I will eventually get a chance to go to France. I've had the thought of doing a stained glass window with an Eiffel Tower in it for a very long time. I just couldn't seem to figure out how to do it. There is just too much detail. I finally decided to go for it. I could at least sketch something and see if I thought it would work. So... that is what I did.

I simplified it quite a bit. And then of course I love trees and nature, so I added a tree in the corner. Also, it will add a little bit more color to it.

So that is what I'm thinking of doing... a window of the above sketch. I have also wanted to learn to paint for a long time and have been struggling with whether I should do that right now or make the stained glass window. I love stained glass and want to continue doing it, but I don't know that I could manage both at the same time with school, work and the rest of my life. I have been putting off learning to paint for a long time though....

....What the heck! I might just do both at the same time. That certainly beats having to decide between one or the other.

Now Complete

Here is a final picture of the panel lamp that I made for my sister. I am glad that it turned out so well and looks beautiful!

I was a little worried. I am a little too afraid sometimes of what other people will think, but I think it was a success. Thanks Heather! It means a lot to me that you love it and will display it in your home!

Done And Done!

Interesting tidbit:

According to UrbanDictionary.com "Done and done" is a phrase to say when one has finished something that was so involved that it is as though one has done it twice.

When I read that it kinda made me laugh because on this project I actually did do it twice. However, we can all give a big sigh of relief now, because I am DONE!!! I finally finished "The Lamp That Almost Wasn't," which is the name I just now decided to give it. From hence forward, that is what it shall be known as.

Here are some pictures of the final product:

This next one is one of me holding it up to the window so that you can get an idea of what it would look like with light shining through it. It isn't a very good representation though. The red is a lot darker red, and the green is more green, and the tan is a little lighter. So...as you can see it looks almost nothing like that, and the camera I used didn't really capture a good representation. But here it is anyway:

When my sister gets a lamp base for it maybe I will take a final final picture, and I'll try to use a better camera, so you might see what it actually looks like.

Now I will be on to another project. Hmm....what to do?

6 Days Or Else!

So...for those of you who do not know the story about this lamp, I will now tell it. Disclaimer: the names of those involved have been changed so as not to reveal their true identities.

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, in the year 2008, there was a crazy girl named Shamelia who came up with this wonderful idea. "I will make you a beautiful lamp out of stained glass," she told her sister. This crazy girl was already working on a huge project, the "Fall Aspens" window. Just started it in fact, but that didn't cross her mind at the time. The sister, uh...Shmeather, said, "You don't have to make me a lamp!" To which Shamelia replied, "Yes, I do HAVE to because I WANT to. And I WILL!"

A thought later occurred to Shamelia. I am already working on this stained glass window, which has a billion pieces! I can only work on it between school, work, and the rest of my life! Instead of thinking logically and realizing that it would be quite a while before she could get to the lamp, she decided, "I will make it for your birthday Shmeather!" As I'm sure you could guess, Shamelia was nowhere near being done with the current project when Shmeather's birthday came around.

The birthday passed, then, still not thinking logically, Shamelia decided to make it for Christmas! Yes, Christmas was only 7 months away and she was still nowhere near being done with the window, but so what? Christmas came and went. And then another birthday and another Christmas. At this point Shamelia was beginning to realize her error in judgement, but there was no going back now.

About this time, she finally finished the "Fall Aspens" window. It had taken a lot longer than she thought it would, but who knew that school and work could take up so much time? It was a wonderful thing to have the window finished. Not only had it been a 2 year project and was beautiful (if I do say so myself), but NOW she could finally get started on the lamp she had so long ago promised her sister Shmeather.

She now began working on the lamp. This project was a lot smaller than the window, so she thought she could definitely get it done by her sister's next birthday. Don't ask me why Shamelia thought it had to be done for a birthday or Christmas. I guess she just thought it would be a good time. School and work still took up a good majority of Shamelia's time, however, so she did not progress on the lamp as planned. Shmeather's birthday came and went again. Then Christmas. Finally, the beginning of the year (now 2011) Shamelia was making some real progress. The lamp was almost done! But alas! The lamp, in it's final stages of being finished, broke! The disappointment! The shame! She tried to repair the lamp, but could not succeed. So, discarding the lamp, she decided to start over.

A couple of months later, Shamelia is finally making some good progress on the new and improved lamp. And now, once again, it is Shmeather's birthday in 6 days. She still has to solder the panels together and then solder those into the shape of the lamp. Do you think Shamelia will succeed? Can she complete the lamp in 6 days? Or will Shmeather have to wait until Christmas to receive it?



This is a picture of the current state of the lamp. I know it looks exactly like the first one, but I assure you, it is the new and improved version.

Panel Lamp #2 - Take Two

It has been a while since my last post, so I thought I would give an update on my progress...

It took a while for me to get up the courage to go back to the stained glass supply store after the horrible failure of my first attempt on making this lamp. However, I did manage to drag myself there... finally. I talked to the owner about my troubles and, amazingly, felt better about everything afterwards. She agreed with me that part of my problem may have been because my soldering iron was getting too hot. I was able to purchase a temperature controller, so hopefully that will no longer be a problem.

Then came the hardest part...picking out new glass. Normally, this is not that bad, especially if you have an idea already in your head. However, I had already found the perfect colors the first time around. You cannot always find the exact same colors because they obviously run out of certain colors and sheets of glass vary from one to the next. After what seemed like hours of looking at every single sheet of glass that she had, I had to make a decision. I tried to get the exact same ones but, as I just explained, that is not always possible. I managed to find ones that are pretty close though, so I think it will still turn out the way I had originally imagined.

Since then, I have cut all the pieces of glass. Now I just have to grind the edges down, foil, and then solder. I'm hoping for better results than the last time and hope to have another update soon... and pictures...

Trial & ERROR

The lamp that started out so exciting and beautiful, which has caused so much stress, frustration and anger, has caused even more. At this point I have decided to just junk it. I will use the glass that I can salvage for something else in the future and begin fresh from the start.

In a perfect world, I would love to finish it just for the sake of finishing and not giving up, but unfortunately we do not live in a perfect world (at least I don't) and it is no longer worth the anxiety it has been causing me. In the process of taking out the broken pieces I have created more broken pieces. Now I am afraid that even if I replace those broken ones, that other pieces might be weak enough now that they will break when I am further along in the process and that will make me very angry and depressed.

So... to avoid these negative feelings, I am going to start over. Don't worry, Heather, it is fine with me. I am happy to start over. I feel as though a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Just the thought of starting again makes me feel so much better. And I promise, this time it won't take me 2 years.

Who knows, maybe someday I will create a beautiful work of art from all the broken/extra pieces like these:

I have certainly had a lot of trouble with this lamp, but I have learned a lot. I guess all I can do is take the experience from this and improve in the future. It takes a lot of mistakes to become good at something, right?

Maybe I got some bad glass? Yeah!...I think I'll go with that. ;)

Cardinal in Winter

Here is the second window I made. I created the pattern myself from a picture.

I love the purple sky in the background. It makes me think of dark, stormy days in the fall or winter. I also love the three golden leaves still clinging to the tree and the texture of the glass I used for the branches.

Red Rock Landscape

This is the first stained glass window that I ever made. I used a pattern, but I think it turned out pretty good for my first one.

The colors are a bit on the extreme side, but I like it that way.

It was while making this that I realized I love making stained glass windows and wanted to continue making them!

Fall Aspen Trees

I am still working on trying to repair the lampshade that I previously posted about. However, in the meantime I thought I would show some of my past work.

This is a picture of my third stained glass window, but the first one that I completely designed myself. I came up with the idea, drew the pattern, and then made the window. It took me what seemed like FOREVER to finish this with school and work and the many, many small pieces involved.

I have always loved going to the mountains to see the beautiful aspen trees in the fall. No matter how many times I do, I never get tired of the beauty of them. The bright yellow (and sometimes pink...weird, I know) is absolutely amazing. It never ceases to surprise me that something in nature could be so bright and colorful. And every year they seem to be brighter and more beautiful than they were in my memory.

I plan to continue the tradition of making as many trips as I can up into the mountains each fall, every year, for the rest of my life. But for the rest of the year, I love having this to look at.

Fighting the urge to cry...

So...I don't really know what to say, other than my lampshade cracked. I have been obsessing over getting it absolutely perfect. I struggle with being a perfectionist when it comes to things I make, but I have been even more so on this project because I am making it for my sister.

I had it all soldered and was cleaning it. While cleaning it I decided that it wasn't good enough and could use some more work. So I started doing some more soldering, trying to make the seams smoother and BAM! or I guess CRACK!!!! would be a better description. The crack went across a whole piece almost. I was really upset about this crack. After all the work and time I have spent on this lamp for it to happen at this point is just disappointing.

I spent last night trying to calm myself down. It's not the end of the world I told myself. I am usually pretty good at shrugging things off. I mean, what can I do? It happened. Unless I can go back in time there is no changing that fact. I convinced myself that it wasn't that bad of a crack. I thought I might even be able to ignore it and just finish the lamp and be done. That was the plan.

This morning, I set at it again. I started to clean it. Things weren't looking so bad and what do you think happened?? CRRRRAAAAAACKKK!!! One of the pieces around the bottom broke. And this one was even worse than the one from last night. It's moments like that, that I get so angry I imagine myself picking up the entire shade and shattering it on the ground. But...of course I didn't. What good would that do?

I have kind of calmed myself down at this point. The rational side of me is saying, "Look Amelia, it's not the end of the world. You can take a few steps back, take out the broken pieces, and then resolder them together." But the unrational side of me is trying to convince the rational side that it is indeed the end of the world. I think the rational side will overcome the other in the end.

So...that is the situation at this point. I will attempt to take out the broken pieces and replace those. And then start over from there. Before I do that I am going to go get a new soldering iron. I think that is the problem. The one I currently have gets too hot and that is what is causing the glass to crack...hopefully.

Stay tuned, and hopefully my next post will be better news! Cross your fingers for me!

Panel Lamp #2

At this stage, all of the pieces have been cut, ground and foiled.

Now I am ready to solder the individual panels.

Here I have already soldered the panels and am preparing to stand the shade up so that I can solder it into the shape of the lamp shade.

When I made my first panel lamp this part of the process sounded really easy. You just tape the panels together and then pull up in the middle and it will come up into the shape. However, it was nowhere near that simple. I tried and tried and could not get it to cooperate. In fact, I thought about giving up a couple times. I persisted though, and eventually succeeded. So this time I prepared myself. I was ready to take a frustratingly long time. However....

...SUCCESS!!!!

And on the first try!

I must admit, I was pretty proud of myself.

I am almost done now. I just have to solder the rest of it and then I will be done! And on to the next project!

Snowstorms & Brainstorms

I don't know what it is about snowstorms that makes me so happy, but they do. The result of this happiness puts me in a brainstorming mood. Around this time in a project (3/4 of the way done) I also start thinking about my next project. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but it's the way it is. So...this morning, that is what I have been doing. Brainstorming for my next project. I am thinking of doing another lamp, but there are so many choices!

My favorite kind is the Tiffany-style lamp. There are many different styles of this type of lamp, but one beautiful example is this:

The one problem/benefit of doing this style of lamp is that I have never done one before. It would definitely be a challenge, but that always makes things more fun. Plus, I always love to learn something new.

The next style, of which I have done 1 for myself and 3/4 of another one for my sister (so far), is the panel lamp. There are also many styles of this one, but here are 2 examples:

The second one is the panel lamp that I did for myself. (It's more red than it appears in the picture). It was my first lamp. Pretty simple, but I like it.

So that is where I am today. Trying to decide what to do next. And while I love doing stained glass windows, I just feel like making a lamp at the moment.

Stay tuned for an update on my current project...

Here I am...

After what has probably been close to a year of thinking and changing my mind back and forth a hundred different times, here I am. I have finally decided to jump into the world of blogging. I have never been a person with a lot to say, so I will mostly be posting pictures of my stained glass art as well as other art that inspires me. As Federico Fellini said, "All art is autobiographical." So maybe through this blog you will learn more about me than I would ever put into words. Either way, I hope you enjoy it.