But what about those dedication panels?

They're coming along great, actually.  Each dedication panel is really starting to develop its own personality as I continue to find pieces and chunks and portions to add to them.  Each portion of this project has brought its challenges, mechanically AND artistically, but I am proud to say that I've been up to the task at each turn.

Each of these lower panels has a center full plate. Then on either side of the plate are the dates of operation for the Heisey company...  1896 and 1957.  Below on one of the panels will be my name, and on the other will most likely be "Glass from Heisey Collectors of America" and "Installation by Blake Bros. Glass Co., LLC", or variations on this.

By the way, last week I sent a full box of the leftovers to the museum to use on the new marble project. (I'm a marble collector, too.)

And now, a look at our progress!

A peek at the raw materials!

There are so many different kinds of Heisey.  So many shapes, colors, treatments, patterns...  it just goes on and on.  It's an incredible challenge to try to adapt my skillset to work with this raw material and all of the little nuances that come with it.  What a delight, however, it has been.

Treasures, All!

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!