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CONSTRUCTION
The main flat panel portion of this project is actually 2 layers of glass. The top layer is the window "panes" that have 3/4 inch bevels in the intersections of the squares, the shelf that the kitty is sitting on and 2 of the tortoise shell jewels for the top 2 flowers..

Under the window panel is another panel that makes up the outdoor scene. Because I knew the completed project would be heavy, I incorporated some of the structural support in this panel as part of the design. The dark tree branches that run through the center and to the left side are spaces in the panel that I filled with a heavy gauge, 7 strand, twisted copper electrical wire. I also used a lot of restrip hidden in the seams.

The kitty was cut from white bullseye. I layered on some gray and white Bullseye in areas and also used some black powder and medium frit. The bow is cranberry & white opal, with gold purple and a dichro knot fused and then soldered in place.

The fish bowl is indeed a fish bowl, cut and soldered to a flat back of clear and some curious Bullseye for water. Inside are 2 flameworked fish.

The vase is made out of black iridescent Uroboros ripple. The ribbon around it is tinned restrip and the bow is one of the lead castings.

The flower petals and leaves were cut from various shades of Uroboros glass and then flameworked for dimensional effects. Five of the flowers have the tortoise shell jewels as centers. The tulip and calla lily each have 1/2 of the remaining lead castings as the center. The bleeding hearts have the other 3 remaining bevels as centers.

The last tortoise shell jewel went to the spider hiding in the upper right hand corner. I flameworked 2 eyes for him and he is attached to a wire web.

The panel is 19" x 24", weighs 22 lbs and is enclosed in a frame made from old barn wood.

CHALLENGES
I think the biggest challenge was my time restraint on this project. I had one week to complete it before leaving on an extended vacation. The second challenge was the structural support. And the third was cutting that darn fish bowl. I broke 2 others before getting it right the 3rd time.

       
       
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Well, this one was certainly a puzzle. My first thought was that I needed to do something with 6 turtles. Maybe turtles in a landscape, perhaps a lamp. That was a brash thought since I had never done a lamp before. Oh well, forging on...

At least maybe a panel lamp wouldn't be too hard. The turtles seemed a bit bright so I backed them with another piece of green to mute their color a bit. As for the bevels...twelve just didn't divide the way I wanted, I had been thinking that eight panels would be about right. So I made four more three-quarter "things" with copper foil. A little extra venting for the top and I could put eight bevels around the bottom. For that I made more grills to hold the bevels and created a "scarf hem" for the skirt. With the grills now I started imagining subway grates, so the landscape began to morph into a cityscape.

It was at this point that my daughter Kelsey tried to convince me that they were really Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and I should put little bandanas on them. I resisted.

Next I decided to modify the turtleshells a little in the interests of simplicity. Of course now they are reminding me of hubcaps. But may those hills in the foreground are really landfill...works for me.

Finally there was the problem of the castings. They were indeed strange. But I figured if I cut them in half and added a blob of solder to the bottom on one half, I would have four dangles to put on the lamp skirt. It looked a little skimpy though, so I made four more dangles with beads to the approximate size and shape of the cast dangles. And just for fun (and because the sky looked a little empty) I added a sun. It all looks rather nice sitting on the piano...