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Hello from Jenny & Mike!

This is our first newsletter of 2010 - we wish you a happy New Year and hope you had a great Christmas!

Although 2010 has only just begun, we're putting events in the diary...

Events coming up
Details of all our events throughout the year, dates, links and advance info are on our events page.

Sally Evans' Art & Craft market, Thame 24th April
Another one of Sally's varied and enjoyable markets with around 20 exhibitors.

St Albans major art event, 11th to 13th June - to be confirmed
This event is in the planning stage and we promised not to reveal the details until the venue is finalised...info soon!

Bucks Open Studios, 12th to 17th June - Wendover Library Meeting Room
We've just confirmed our venue so we're looking forward to running demos, meeting you and showing our latest work alongside Sara Wickenden.

Herts Open Studios, 11th September to 3rd October - venue to be confirmed
We'll announce our choice of venue in the first few months of 2010 - keep a look out for updates in our newsletters.

Sally Evans' Art & Craft market, Thame 16th October
Join us again at Sally's Autumn market.

Sally Evans' Art & Craft market, Wendover 13th November
Just in time for Christmas with plenty of gift ideas!

We're also hoping to confirm a demonstration slot at some major South-East craft and art events - details in February's newsletter. Do keep an eye on our events page for updates.

Stained Glass Taster Classes - your question answered
We've had a number of questions about our classes, which we'll try to answer here, in the form of an FAQ...

Q - What kind of piece will I be able to make, and can I choose the design and colours?
A - We have several designs to choose from, similar to ones we sell at craft fairs for around £45 to £55, like the example here.
You can choose the design you prefer, and select from the wide range of glass we bring along.

Q - Is everything included, like the glass and materials?
A - Yes - you only need to bring yourself and fully-enclosed shoes (in case of glass mishaps). You can bring your own lunch if you prefer, but we do provide lunch for all attendees.

Q - I've done a bit of glass work before. Can you help me develop my skills?
A - Yes - we've taught people who have worked with glass and wanted to be inspired and improve their ability. We're happy to put together a class plan to help you.

Q - Aren't you worried you're teaching people to be in competition with you?
A - Like any art form it takes a lot of time and dedication to get really good! We'll start you off on the right path but if you want to make and sell good work, that will take more than one day!

Details of our classes and dates available are on our Classes page - where you can book and pay online.

Finally
Thanks to our class attendees for keeping us entertained and working so hard, thanks to our supportive gallery owners and thanks to all those who bought or commissioned pieces from us in 2009. Here's to 2010!

Best Regards,
Jenny & Mike

 
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New pieces
We've been experimenting with a skeleton frame mounting to make pieces suitable for wall mounting. Let us know what you think. Click on the images for full info, as usual.
Atlantic Rain - click for more infoSalty Spray - Click for more info

Gallery News
We're delighted that some of our latest pieces (including the ones above) have been selected for Obsidian Art's Trees, Woods, Land & Sea exhibition, opening on Jan 7th.
www.obsidianart.co.uk

Details of the galleries we work with regularly are on our 'How to buy' page.

A glass fact
We're often asked how the glass used for stained glass differs from window glass.
Window glass is usually made by the float method, where the glass is floated on a bath of molten tin while still malleable, giving a very flat and optically correct surface.

Much of the glass we use is cast in small sheets by specialist makers like Spectrum and Youghiogheny and often involves combining different glasses together to form textured and multi-coloured sheets.

The Waterglass we use (exclusive to Spectrum) is stretched while the sheet is still molten to create wonderful watery ripples.

Our favourite, Baroque, is made by combining two glasses with different coefficients of expansion while still molten.
The two glasses then 'resist' mixing and form waves of colour with distinctive swirling textures, as in the piece below.
Blue Baroque glass