My latest commission completed. Happy Birthday Emily!

Here is the latest panel I created for a local woman here in town. Her mother wanted to give her something special for her birthday this year and I was the lucky artist who was asked to create that "something special"! I am very pleased with this piece and even happier to know that mother and daughter shared this moment in time! Thank you Emily and mom for buying handmade! With Gratitude, Laurie B.http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/THE-LOOKING-GLASS/85733685674

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!

I completed the church commission in Iowa and the windows were installed! A dedication ceremony will be held next weekend. The photos will be uploaded as soon as my laptop heals from it's "black eye!" 
I head out today to another new client in New Glarus, Wisconsin. She has chosen a hexagon pattern containing oak leaves to adorn her front porch! I'm looking forward to this commission. It is smaller (26 inches) so it will give me some much needed instant gratification. I enjoy the large commissions but now and again it is nice to do a piece and be done in a week or so. LIFT UP YOUR ART! With gratitude, Laurie

SECOND ELVIRA CHURCH PANEL IN PROGRESS

Hello Friends, I was able to complete the cutting and grinding process for the second panel last week. I will be copper foiling and soldering the panel this week to complete the second of three panels! LIFT UP YOUR ART! With gratitude, Laurie B.

Blog Post #300

Hello to all of my Blogger Friends! I will be packing up my studio equipment and glass today. I'm SO excited to be moving into my new studio!!! The church windows will be my first commission in the new digs! WHOOT! With Gratitude, Laurie B.

IOWA CHURCH WINDOW COMMISSION IS A GREEN LIGHT!

My trip to Elvira Lutheran Church was a smashing success! I will be traveling to Madison, WI to make the glass and supply purchases this weekend. Heat is being installed in my new studio and I couldn't be happier nor more grateful for all of the continued support I am receiving for my growing business. Here are a few photos of the trip and church for those that are interested. With Gratitude, Laurie (Lorelei) 

Time to solder away!

A Black And White Issue Commission

Good Morning Friends, I just wanted to stop by and post some photos I am taking along the way while I work on my current commission. The piece is 24 inches tall by 18 inches wide. I think it is going to be a real stunner! This lovely panel will be traveling all the way to New Jersey! I'm counting on you UPS!~

With gratitude, Laurie B.

Busy Days At The Olde Farmhouse

PHOTO BY LAURIE BEGGIN TAKEN JUNE 25TH, 2009 PLEASE RESPECT COPYWRITE LAWS

We are in the throws of summer here at the farm. Berries are done, tomatos and beans are growing, peppers are hanging on for dear life and I believe we were able to save our side porch for a few more years of service. Lilies are blooming like crazy!

I'm very busy working on my new commisssion and have another one lined up so I'm a bit under the gun. A Black And White Issue is being featured on my fan page on Facebook. The link is at the top of this blog. I am thrilled that my fan base is growing like wildfire!! So, I will TRY and post some photos for your enjoyment of my past few days here at The Old Farmhouse. Cross your fingers! I have had nothing but trouble with the photo uploader! I've about given up. With gratitude, Laurie B.

UPDATE ON MY NEWEST PROJECT

Hello Readers,

If you are a member of Facebook I urge you to join my fan page there. It is growing rapidly and I was able to upload photos of my recent project there. I am still unable to upload my photos here on Blogger. Tomorrow I will be answering some questions regarding Baroque glass and the process. Enjoy! Just go to Facebook and type in The Looking Glass in the search box in the upper righthand corner. With gratitude, Laurie B.

A Black And White Issue

I am starting on a new commission for a client from New Jersey. She saw my original work on Etsy, a panel that is 8 x 12 entitled A Black And White Issue. She requested the same glass, baroque in black and white, but asked that I create the panel with dimensions of 24 x 18. Many times I can take a pattern from a pattern book and resize it via the computer, however, in this case the geometrics of the pattern would not resize due to aspect ratio issues. I decided to completely hand draw the pattern. It is similar to the original in the pattern book but did take some extra work. From there, I had to make a few copies and I have since cut the pattern, laid it on the glass and have 1/2 of the pattern cut and ready to grind. I will be loading pictures as soon as my computer stops acting up but for now, I wanted to let you know what MAGIC is happening at The Looking Glass. Please stop back in in the next day or two and check out the photos with more detailed descriptions of the stained glass process. With Gratitude, Laurie B.

Weekend Getaway

 

photo by Joseph Robert Patrick Beggin copywrite protected

I am back from a wonderful weekend trip with family that I have missed so much. While I was in the midst of it all I reflected on how much life, with all of it's wonderful quirks influences my creative juices, ideas for design and inspiration to continue growing as an artist. I am offically back to work full time this week in my art studio. Enchanting~! With gratitude, Laurie B.

Reflection

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes but in having new eyes. 

Marcel Proust

Thousand Word Thursday

 

MY LITTLE ROAD WARRIOR

Third Time's A Charm!

Hello Friends! Happy Friday evening to each of you. It's been a very busy week here at the Olde Farmhouse. I have been working on some wonderful new orders and I can't wait to share them with you. I've also been working on helping my son and his wife settle into their new home and; as par for the course...I ended up back on Zpac at the end of this week due to another infection! Argh! At any rate, my BIG news for this week is that I was just contacted by vsilcoxdesigns, an amazing artist who's shop can be found at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5695473    Vsilcoxdesigns has created a Treasury featuring my Hyde Park Panel! PLEASE VISIT THIS TREASURY AND LEAVE A COMMENT! This group of Etsy artists are among the finest I've seen to date! I'm stunned, thrilled and honored to be among them. Here is the link
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=42532
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
With gratitude, Laurie B.

Dr. John Sweet Home New Orleans

Good day friends! We had a busy,busy weekend. My youngest son and his wife have moved into their first home! We had a wonderful time despite the weather. I am playing catch up with The Looking Glass and jumped on to check my messages. I have been featured in yet another Etsy Treasury! This one is an absolutely beautiful collection of colors, textures and artistic amazement! Please check this out at http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=41049 and enjoy it! My Amber Fleur de Lys was featured in the top row!
Blest be to you! Laurie B.

Completion of my first Hyde Park design

Good Morning friends! I have completed my first Hyde Park design and whew it was a challenge! I am very pleased with it's completion and am very happy with all of my glass choices. I used English Muffle for it's highly reflective quality. I searched and searched for a piece of special glass for the vase and I think the effort really paid off.

I will be listing this piece on Esty. I hate to part with it but it is lovely and I would love to share it with someone.

Today I have a completely free day to work in my studio on my next piece! I have started digging in; creating some items for the speaking engagement I have in April. Hope everyone is doing well. Winter is almost behind us! With gratitude, Laurie B.

Etsy Treasury West feature!

Good Friday evening friends! One of my all-time favorite pieces, the Craftsman style Quilt Panel has been featured in an Etsy treasury! To see this lovely collection of art, hand picked by LoraCasil,  simply to go this link http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=43159 and enjoy! Thank you Lora! It's a very lovely grouping. With gratitude, Laurie B.

My Art has been featured in a couple of Etsy Treasuries

Please take a look at this lovely Etsy Treasury that Tamilyn created. If you hover over this blog post title and click it will take you to the Treasury.  She featured my Rose colored Mini Transom! Thanks so much! With gratitude, Laurie B.

gRain Ponchos (TM) stained glass feeder covers

Good Afternoon Readers! I'm trying out some different names for my bird feeder covers. I thought gRain Ponchos (TM) is a hoot! What do you think vs. Made In The Shade? Today I'm sharing photos of the beginning stages of the stained glass process as I create a medium size shade. I was contacted by a buyer recently and thought this would be a good example of a custom order request. I thought some of you may enjoy the educational process and/or be a bit curious as to just "how" these babies are made. The photos here include the pattern (which is duplicated six times for this particular cover), the glass that was chosen and the pattern pieces adhered to the glass . Then shown are the beginning stages of cutting each piece to size. From here, each individual piece will be cut to the exact size and then grinding the edges ensues. (NOT my favorite part of the creative process) I'll send updated pictures of that also but for now PLEASE send me a comment about my name idea. I think gRain Ponchos (TM) is such a fun play on words but would really love my readers input! With gratitude, Laurie B.

Made In The Shade (TM) stained glass birdfeeder covers

Good morning readers! I am very excited to be working on my newest project, Made In The Shade (TM) bird feeder covers. The photo above shows a lampshade that I had in my garage and through pure necessity put it on my feeder and voila, the idea was born! It sure looks better than the green/black plastic protectors and my birdseed is nice and dry!
I have since created custom ordered lampshades for clients in a smaller size. I have trademarked my concept and am now working on creating several different sizes and designs to add to my inventory on Etsy. As always, I welcome custom requests. I love working one-on-one with people from all around the United States and am very excited about this concept! Pam Hawk from Pass It On Plates and Plate It Forward http://passitonplatesblog.blogspot.com/  has, once again, fueled my imagination and given me incredible support. She pointed out that this will have great potential for the western states (she lives in Oregon) since they have lovely mild winters. These do seem to be very hardy to the winter we've had here in the Midwest thus far but I do think, with her help, people out west will really enjoy these. Sending you warm wishes on this stormy weekend here in the Midwest, with gratitude, Laurie B.
If you have already purchased one of my covers I would be thrilled to have a picture of it attached to your feeder to share here on my blog! Please submit photos to begginfarmhouse@yahoo.com