Oh, this is getting exciting!

I’ve just finished talking with both Jack and Susan.  It has been good to be in contact again.  How strange it is to admit that I'm running out of pieces to work with!  I have requested use some “new” pieces from the museum to help me fill in the gaps with more of the same high-quality patterns that I've grown accustomed to for this project.  Of course there remain some left over parts that I could use, but all the really interesting glass is already in place in the panels.  

With that in mind, here are my thoughts on what I’d like to add. (taken from the email that I used to make the request!)

I need mostly flat pieces like plates and saucers.  These can/should be broken/chipped stuff because the pieces I need will be around 3 to 4 inches by maybe up to 6 or 7 inches after I’ve cut them to size.  They are for the fill in spaces.  Anything with etched patterns and mold patterns along the lines of Whirlpool, Old Sandwich, Prince of Wales, Rococo, etc. would be great.  Any etched patterns, particularly if they are also in the center, like Moongleam, floral motifs or any needle etchings will be useful.  All together I could use maybe 12 to 16 pieces – color would be an extra bonus.

The stack of glass to be returned is building up, too.  All the scrap parts from the cutting are being saved in containers that I will mail back to the museum for further use.  It’s even sorted by color.  (When it comes to great ideas, the Heisey Museum runs on them!  My leftover bits and pieces are going to be melted into beads and marbles.  Nothing is going to go to waste!)

The first two panels are complete and ready to go to their home, but since the installation and various ceremonies are undecided, they will stay here in Colorado a bit longer.  The two lower panels are now well underway. 

A fresh summary:

Stop me if you've heard this before...

These four panels are calling on all the skills and knowledge about stained glass construction that I have learned since I first started working in glass in the 1960’s. In addition, these panels are requiring many new approaches with new solutions. Because the Heisey glass is not flat but actually three dimensional, there is the challenge of fitting the pieces together while maintaining the design and having the entire panel fit within the required depth dimension allowed so that the panels may be sealed between two layers of plate glass for installation in the new doors.


One goal for these panels has been to use glass from the Museum that was broken or damaged. Many pieces have chips, cracks, major scratches – all of which turn them into “scrap” glass. For my purposes, a great deal of this glass can be re-purposed through careful cutting and grinding into quite useable pieces for the panels. Often times a third of a plate will clear the imposed depth while the full piece will not, it is too deep to fit. The base of a goblet can become a roundel and slices of a goblet’s bowl and be flat enough if properly trimmed.


The internal strengthening created using zinc calming (caming) as an integral part of the overall design also mitigates the spaces which helps control the fitting of the glass into the allotted depth.


Having completed the upper two panels to the point where they can be put upright for a full visual inspection, two things are immediately apparent. These panels are very sturdy – the internal barring is quite strong and the glass itself (much of it is amazingly thick) adds strength. The second thing is that the high quality of Heisey glass – its sheer clarity and sparkle – makes these panels fantastic. They seem to glow.


Another area of discovery is working out the adjustments to each piece so that the pieces may be soldered together after they have been foiled. Some of the individual pieces require over an hour of special grinding to get the proper fit. In most cases a higher/lower touching allows for a good fit. Occasionally there are larger gaps to bridge. Since the panels are enclosed, some of those gaps can be left open, accenting the three-dimensionality of the panels.

However, all this non-flat surfacing will make the final cleanings of the panels quite an undertaking.
This too, is turning into quite an adventure.

Finished Panel!

While it's on my mind...

You know, I've been looking through my research library (no really, my collection of books out here is just a few volumes short of requiring a full time librarian these days!) and I've found some of my favorites that talk about the history of Heisey, the patterns, everything.  It's been lots of fun looking through them and having so many of the patterns right in front of me to look at and review!  Goodness, it has filled my head with memories, too, of growing up with my own mother's collection of beautiful, useful glassware.

I remember my mother had some magnificent Heisey pieces that she used for special occasions, as well as those salt and pepper shakers that were always on the kitchen table.  She just loved the beauty and utility of Heisey.  I remember specifically she had two marvelous punch bowls, one which I inherited upon her passing and the other one went to my brother John for his family.  I'm fairly confident that his punchbowl was Heisey, but I know for sure that my punch bowl is Heisey!  It's a cherished jewel in my personal collection and I just never seem to be able to use it enough.  Oh well, can't be throwing too many parties, after all, with all of this real work to do!

After my mother introduced me to the Questers organization, my fascination with Heisey started to bloom.  It was a pretty slow process, back then, as I had two young children and a drum-tight budget.  I was also nursing a fondness for Pueblo pottery, among a few other collections, but the "addiction" to collecting was in my very bones and there was nothing for it but to take my time, learn everything that I could, and wait for the years to continue to present me with more and better opportunities for growing my carefully curated collections.  Not unlike the roots of aspen trees that reach out to produce new, healthy stems...  one piece of Heisey soon became another which in time became a handsome "grove" of beautiful pieces.  Pretty soon, a collector in my position realizes that there's a real treasure being built in the house, and it wasn't long at all before I was being asked to share what I knew about my pieces for my other antique-adoring friends.

My goal has been, and continues to be to have a piece (at least one) of as many patterns as I can.  It's not a very smart way to control a collection, but it's a grand adventure, to be sure!  Besides, the pieces are wonderful and useful and nary a season goes by when I don't pull out a treasured Heisey piece for use on my dinner table to hold fruit, flowers, or sandwiches for guests.  My mother was absolutely right about choosing such a great company for her beloved glassware.  It just goes to show, if I may be so bold, that she did a great job instilling me with her fondness for all things beautiful and practical (after which I threw in plenty of my own "impractical" twists for good measure.)

Well it's been a few weeks! What's up?

Mary and Sid donated two beautiful Plantation plates for the panels!  So grateful for this donation, as it turns out that they'll add some more wonderful diversity to the patterns being featured in these panels.

By now one of the upper panels has been completed!  As much as I'd love to bring it to the annual meeting, the photographs I've sent to Michael must suffice.  I'm far too busy to attend the meeting this year but I hope my Heisey team will remember that I'll be busy on this project...  working hard on these panels which I've grown to love so much.  It won't be the same, certainly, but I'll be having plenty of Heisey fun out here when the meeting is taking place.

The layout/planning stage is well underway for the upper panel that's going to contain the Plantation plates.  As I continue to assemble, I've found the perfect spot for at least one of the Oak Leaf coasters, too!  Last month I found a single Greek Key coaster-sized plate that I'm keen to use in this project, and the Oak Leaf coaster plate matches the size exactly.  I'll be able to use them both, then, and maintain the symmetry we've already established within the panels!  It's been a really exciting discovery, I do love it when little finds like these suddenly wave at me and offer me such pretty solutions.  I have plenty of opportunities going forward too, to work on other feature-able patterns, so that's fantastic!