Pathfindersonline

Please help. I don't know where to find the information on preparing glass for the various crafts. Does that include breaking the glass to use? or can we purchase pieces and use them instead? Also, is the requirement just for a glass picture or can we do like a candle holder mosaic? Thank you for your response. God bless.

Glass Craft is the art and artistry of Stained Glass. This is a wise field of artisanship and has been used for over 500 years now, primarily in pictures/windows.

This might help:
http://www.glassmart.com/links.html

The requirement does say picture, I would not be offended by a deviation from that to make candle holders; it seems within the spirirt of the craft to me.

I do not recommend using Lead beading for candle holders though, if someone chooses a candle with too hot a wick it could cause the lead to fume (poison) or the holder to fail. Just a thought. (My wife makes many, many candles so I have learned a fair amount about the wicking).

Chris Fishell
Xtreme Youth Resources International

I am trying to get this honor ready to teach as well. I have wondered if this was a "stained glass" honor or mosaics or something else. I have likened this honor to information I have found on “paper crafts”, it includes a number of “crafts” – Paper Mache, embossing, rubber stamping, folding paper (origami), and many others. I am of the opinion that this honor is along that line. Get a basic understanding of glass, how it is made, what are some of the “characteristics of it, and make something with it.
Interestingly I went to a Stained glass store. They had mosaics in addition to stained glass. The owner was very helpful. She had a seat she had made with “stain” glass – it was a mosaic in concrete, with a picture of a bald eagle.
If you read the “answers” provided by Leland and Linda Davis in "Arts & Crafts & Hobbies Honor Series" they do not seem to restrict the honor to stain glass but include many other kinds of glass such as fiberglass, optical glass, Bullet resisting glass. The store owner gave me a flyer from Spectrum Glass that listed many types of glass used for stain glass – some were made with particular techniques or methods, it also listed what chemicals are used to make certain colors.
The Davis(s) have yet another idea of how to make the picture. They give instructions to heat glass then place in cold water shattering it. Then place it in a bag and crushing it up very fine. Then place in jars separated by color then use a pattern on a piece of card board and glue colors of “ground” glass to create a picture. This is one way but I think it would be acceptable to make a leaded stain glass item, a mosaic or a similar project. The requirements of this honor are not real clear so as is the case frequently, the instructor must use their judgment. The objective that might be behind each requirement needs to be identified (use your best guess).
For the picture requirement the shop owner is going to give me some of the scrap glass (Leland/Linda suggested that a shop like this might be a good source). She suggested I use a nipper scorer pliers combination (I am not sure if I have this all quite right) to brake up the glass in to small pieces that could be used to make a mosaic. This seems like a good idea. I plan to use it to make a mosaic. It seems the easiest way to meet the spirit of the requirement. I will keep you updated on my progress and would love to here about others.

I just pulled out the Arts Crafts and Hobbies answer book and it is more of a crushed glass on glue picture than a true stained glass work. The crushed glass is made from scrap stained glass however.

I wonder how safe this can be. Glass is so sharp. Any other thoughts?

Being a level 1 honor may be some light. I suspect that the crushed glass is to be purchased that way rather than breaking it for the Junior Pathfinders. I know I would wear gloves.

Chris Fishell
XYRI

Requirement 3 is:
"Prepare at least three colors of glass for picture making."

While the answer book explains how to prepare the crushed glass, it doesn't talk about the need for personal safety equipment. I would wear dust masks and possibly even gloves when crushing the glass. The fine glass dust can be inhaled and cause scar tissue to build up in the lungs!

Eye protection also. Goggles would be the best.
A glass shard in the eye would ruin your day.

Mr. Mike

I think some of these Honors need reviewed more carefully in the immediate future. I am all for survival of the fittest but some basic safety is always good to teach.

Many of these honors are from prior to the modern era of litigation and child proptection, from the days when children weren't too good to die with the rest of the family. This means many of them, unless revised, from the 1970's and earlier will overlook entirely the issue of safety in "the work place." A minor recurrance I have seen in these Honors discussions.

God Bless,

Chris Fishell
Xtreme Youth Resources International

A Jo-ann craft store they have bags of Mosaic glass. It is distributed by http://www.milestones.com. There web site has some more information but mostly informaton on what is available. I purchased a bag and the edges of the pieces don't seem to sharp. The pieces range in size from 1/2 inch square to 1/8 inch square.

Here is another site that talks about Mosaic stained glass
http://www.artglass1.com/bookWEB/mosaic-books.htm

Your suggestions for a safety requirement have been forewarded to members of the AY Honors Committee.

Thanks.

Mark O'Ffill

As always, thank you Mark.

Chris

I just want to say thank you to everyone replying to my post. I am getting quite an education! and am saving the posts in a folder to help us when we start our craft. I have decided on stained glass. We will probably do a group picture of the "Three Angels". I'll let everyone know how it turns out. I am still watching the posts so keep the info coming as you get it, if you don't mind. I particularly appreciate the safety measures, being a dental technician. I know how easy it is to get something in your eye or to get cut. We will use gloves and safety glasses. I have learned however, with most children, the more responsibility you give them, the more they give you. Of course, there are limitations! Our little group surprises me at every turn! By the way, Daystar Fellowship is the name of our club. God bless, Daystar

This forum has become a great communication tool
The safety aspects that have been raised are being forwarded up the chain of command for review.
I think this is wonderful. Part of what I do for a living is manage a safety program.
Safety should be part of the way we think. "What can go wrong" should be asked with each task that our Pathfinders are doing. Serious injury is a heartbeat away from a lot of things Pathfinders do. Knives, axes, fire, etc. are part of the program, but can have life threatening consequences.
In most cases, training is the best defense.

Thanks Mark for moving these thoughts to the appropriate people.

Mr. Mike

Maybe we can find a way to post a club picture (doing the glasscraft) and a diagram of the three angels project your group does on the Pathfinder Website???

I'd be willing to highlight it if you're willing to take the pictures!

Mark O'Ffill

That sounds good, Mark. We won't start our honor until April 19, and I don't know how long it will take, but I will take pictures as we go along. We chose this project so we could have something nice to hang in our church that the kids could feel great about accomplishing, and so the church members can see how worthwhile and wonderful their pathfinders are. Thanks, and God bless. Carol Gray

What a wonderful purpose. I look forward to hearing about your progress and its effect on the church.

God Bless,

Chris Fishell
Xtreme Youth Resources International

When I taught this class I prepared most of the glass ahead of time (my dad does Stain Glass Art so I got scraps). I demonstrated to the kids how I heated the glass, put it in water to get the "shatter pattern" and then used a hammer in a cast iron skillet "inside a grocery bag" to break it. Definitely wear eye protection and have the kids wear it even if it is inside a grocery bag. I had each pathfinder participate in breaking up some of the glass but I had the majority of it prepared ahead of time as it is really time consuming!

I used "stained glass" colorbooks with basic geometric designs. We put material on a small board, traced the pattern onto the material, glued craft yarn onto the traced parts and then glued the glass inside that outline.

You can make this a really simple honor or a more complex design. We had the kids do research on the internet or read the answer book pages for background on the history of glass.

Denise

Thankyou Denise, The yarn is really a good idea. I am collecting all the great ideas for when we start this class. It was going to be the 19th but we got behind in our Astronomy honor, so we must now put it back. I can hardly wait to get started. God bless, Carol

On the computer forums that I have been known to frequent, they have project logs.
Pictures and text to explain the modifications that are being done to the equipment.

Maybe a how to teach an honor with pictures section could be put together along those lines.


Mr. Mike