McElf GlassWorks

A Full Service Glass Art Studio

McElf GlassWorks in Portland, OR

Leave a Comment

June 8-12 I traveled to Portland, OR for the annual Stained Glass Association of America (SGAA) conference.  It was my first time attending an SGAA event, but not my first time in Portland.

Voodoo Doughnuts, Portland OR
Voodoo Doughnuts, Portland “The magic is in the Hole!”

I love Portland.  It’s hard to say what my favorite thing about Portland is: the trees? The architecture?  The magic voodoo doughnuts?  Or… maybe that Bullseye and Uroboros Glass company are both there?  Golly, it’s just so hard to quantify and rate all the awesomeness that makes Portland so… awesome!

It’s a fact that my love for Portland is what gave me the gazungas to fly out and attend a conference I was pretty sure I had no business attending!

Lucky for me, on meeting SGAA members from all over the country, I found they were just as loveable as one of my favorite cities!  I chose a really excellent first meeting to attend: awesome location, awesome people, awesome content.

Have I mentioned awesomeness in the last 3.5 seconds?  Just making sure…

Uroboros - Never Ending Struggle Exhibition Piece by McElf GlassWorks
Uroboros – Never Ending Struggle Exhibition Piece by McElf GlassWorks, SGAA 2015
Uroboros - Serpentine Exhibition Piece, SGAA 2015
Uroboros – Serpentine Exhibition Piece, SGAA 2015

My “Never Ending Struggle” panel flew over with me for the exhibition.  The pieces in the exhibition showed an amazing spectrum of stained glass techniques, and much of the conference focused on that integration of many technical uses of glass into architectural work.

I made some amazing new friends, and came home so inspired to create that talk of duct tape and nails is becoming common around here…

McElf GlassWorks, Stained Glass Sketch
McElf GlassWorks, Stained Glass Sketch — Designing Beyond the Window Pane

I’ve applied for Professional level membership with the SGAA and hope to accomplish many wonderful projects over the next few years.  I had thought that there were levels of the stained glass world that were out of my reach, but it turns out with friendship and mentorship, the guidance I needed was, as usual, closer than I thought.  Which makes my goals a little closer than I thought.  (Inspiring in and of itself!)

At the end of the conference, we took a tour of some amazing local studios, where I experienced awe, inspiration, envy, despair, and finally settled on inspiration, all in a few short hours.

Savoy Studio Tour: Light Fixture
Savoy Studio Tour: Light Fixture
Savoy Studio Tour, Kiln Envy
Savoy Studio Tour, Kiln Envy
Savoy Studio Tour: Railing
Savoy Studio Tour: Railing

This isn’t any sort of ground breaking blog post about my techniques or a specific project or my scientific methods… it’s just a note to say: You never get too old to step outside your comfort zone.  Take a class, go back to basics, meet some new friends.  Shake things up.

I’ll try to duct tape myself to my computer again soon to write something more earth shattering.  But for now, I’m vibrating with creative energy and must get back to my studio!!

With gratitude,

McElf!

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Life's too short for decaf coffee or annoying emails.

What I can't promise is regular, weekly emails. What I can promise is sporadic, humorous updates with a serious amount of gorgeous glassy adventures inside. Occasionally, there might even be a chance to join me for a cup o' coffee. (The really caffeinated kind!)

(function(global) {
function serialize(form){if(!form||form.nodeName!=="FORM"){return }var i,j,q=[];for(i=form.elements.length-1;i>=0;i=i-1){if(form.elements[i].name===""){continue}switch(form.elements[i].nodeName){case"INPUT":switch(form.elements[i].type){case"text":case"hidden":case"password":case"button":case"reset":case"submit":q.push(form.elements[i].name+"="+encodeURIComponent(form.elements[i].value));break;case"checkbox":case"radio":if(form.elements[i].checked){q.push(form.elements[i].name+"="+encodeURIComponent(form.elements[i].value))}break;case"file":break}break;case"TEXTAREA":q.push(form.elements[i].name+"="+encodeURIComponent(form.elements[i].value));break;case"SELECT":switch(form.elements[i].type){case"select-one":q.push(form.elements[i].name+"="+encodeURIComponent(form.elements[i].value));break;case"select-multiple":for(j=form.elements[i].options.length-1;j>=0;j=j-1){if(form.elements[i].options[j].selected){q.push(form.elements[i].name+"="+encodeURIComponent(form.elements[i].options[j].value))}}break}break;case"BUTTON":switch(form.elements[i].type){case"reset":case"submit":case"button":q.push(form.elements[i].name+"="+encodeURIComponent(form.elements[i].value));break}break}}return q.join("&")};

function extend(destination, source) {
for (var prop in source) {
destination[prop] = source[prop];
}
}

if (!Mimi) var Mimi = {};
if (!Mimi.Signups) Mimi.Signups = {};

Mimi.Signups.EmbedValidation = function() {
this.initialize();

var _this = this;
if (document.addEventListener) {
this.form.addEventListener('submit', function(e){
_this.onFormSubmit(e);
});
} else {
this.form.attachEvent('onsubmit', function(e){
_this.onFormSubmit(e);
});
}
};

extend(Mimi.Signups.EmbedValidation.prototype, {
initialize: function() {
this.form = document.getElementById('ema_signup_form');
this.submit = document.getElementById('webform_submit_button');
this.callbackName = 'jsonp_callback_' + Math.round(100000 * Math.random());
this.validEmail = /.+@.+..+/
},

onFormSubmit: function(e) {
e.preventDefault();

this.validate();
if (this.isValid) {
this.submitForm();
} else {
this.revalidateOnChange();
}
},

validate: function() {
this.isValid = true;
this.emailValidation();
this.fieldAndListValidation();
this.updateFormAfterValidation();
},

emailValidation: function() {
var email = document.getElementById('signup_email');

if (this.validEmail.test(email.value)) {
this.removeTextFieldError(email);
} else {
this.textFieldError(email);
this.isValid = false;
}
},

fieldAndListValidation: function() {
var fields = this.form.querySelectorAll('.mimi_field.required');

for (var i = 0; i = 0) {
return 'checkboxes';
} else {
return 'text_field';
}
},

checkboxAndRadioValidation: function(field) {
var inputs = field.getElementsByTagName('input'),
selected = false;

for (var i = 0; i < inputs.length; ++i) {
var input = inputs[i];
if((input.type === 'checkbox' || input.type === 'radio') && input.checked) {
selected = true;
}
}

if (selected) {
field.className = field.className.replace(/ invalid/g, '');
} else {
if (field.className.indexOf('invalid') === -1) {
field.className += ' invalid';
}

this.isValid = false;
}
},

textAndDropdownValidation: function(field, type) {
var inputs = field.getElementsByTagName('input');

for (var i = 0; i = 0) {
if (type === 'text_field') {
this.textValidation(input);
} else {
this.dropdownValidation(field, input);
}
}
}
this.htmlEmbedDropdownValidation(field);
},

textValidation: function(input) {
if (input.id === 'signup_email') return;

if (input.value) {
this.removeTextFieldError(input);
} else {
this.textFieldError(input);
this.isValid = false;
}
},

dropdownValidation: function(field, input) {
if (input.value) {
field.className = field.className.replace(/ invalid/g, '');
} else {
if (field.className.indexOf('invalid') === -1) field.className += ' invalid';
this.onSelectCallback(input);
this.isValid = false;
}
},

htmlEmbedDropdownValidation: function(field) {
var dropdowns = field.querySelectorAll('.mimi_html_dropdown');
var _this = this;

for (var i = 0; i < dropdowns.length; ++i) {
var dropdown = dropdowns[i];

if (dropdown.value) {
field.className = field.className.replace(/ invalid/g, '');
} else {
if (field.className.indexOf('invalid') === -1) field.className += ' invalid';
this.isValid = false;
dropdown.onchange = (function(){ _this.validate(); });
}
}
},

textFieldError: function(input) {
input.className = 'required invalid';
input.placeholder = input.getAttribute('data-required-field');
},

removeTextFieldError: function(input) {
input.className = 'required';
input.placeholder = '';
},

onSelectCallback: function(input) {
if (typeof Widget === 'undefined' || !Widget.BasicDropdown) return;

var dropdownEl = input.parentNode,
instances = Widget.BasicDropdown.instances,
_this = this;

for (var i = 0; i < instances.length; ++i) {
var instance = instances[i];
if (instance.wrapperEl === dropdownEl) {
instance.onSelect = function(){ _this.validate() };
}
}
},

updateFormAfterValidation: function() {
this.form.className = this.setFormClassName();
this.submit.value = this.submitButtonText();
this.submit.disabled = !this.isValid;
this.submit.className = this.isValid ? 'submit' : 'disabled';
},

setFormClassName: function() {
var name = this.form.className;

if (this.isValid) {
return name.replace(/s?mimi_invalid/, '');
} else {
if (name.indexOf('mimi_invalid') === -1) {
return name += ' mimi_invalid';
} else {
return name;
}
}
},

submitButtonText: function() {
var invalidFields = document.querySelectorAll('.invalid'),
text;

if (this.isValid || !invalidFields) {
text = this.submit.getAttribute('data-default-text');
} else {
if (invalidFields.length || invalidFields[0].className.indexOf('checkgroup') === -1) {
text = this.submit.getAttribute('data-invalid-text');
} else {
text = this.submit.getAttribute('data-choose-list');
}
}
return text;
},

submitForm: function() {
this.formSubmitting();

var _this = this;
window[this.callbackName] = function(response) {
delete window[this.callbackName];
document.body.removeChild(script);
_this.onSubmitCallback(response);
};

var script = document.createElement('script');
script.src = this.formUrl('json');
document.body.appendChild(script);
},

formUrl: function(format) {
var action = this.form.action;
if (format === 'json') action += '.json';
return action + '?callback=' + this.callbackName + '&' + serialize(this.form);
},

formSubmitting: function() {
this.form.className += ' mimi_submitting';
this.submit.value = this.submit.getAttribute('data-submitting-text');
this.submit.disabled = true;
this.submit.className = 'disabled';
},

onSubmitCallback: function(response) {
if (response.success) {
this.onSubmitSuccess(response.result);
} else {
top.location.href = this.formUrl('html');
}
},

onSubmitSuccess: function(result) {
if (result.has_redirect) {
top.location.href = result.redirect;
} else if(result.single_opt_in || !result.confirmation_html) {
this.disableForm();
this.updateSubmitButtonText(this.submit.getAttribute('data-thanks'));
} else {
this.showConfirmationText(result.confirmation_html);
}
},

showConfirmationText: function(html) {
var fields = this.form.querySelectorAll('.mimi_field');

for (var i = 0; i < fields.length; ++i) {
fields[i].style['display'] = 'none';
}

(this.form.querySelectorAll('fieldset')[0] || this.form).innerHTML = html;
},

disableForm: function() {
var elements = this.form.elements;
for (var i = 0; i < elements.length; ++i) {
elements[i].disabled = true;
}
},

updateSubmitButtonText: function(text) {
this.submit.value = text;
},

revalidateOnChange: function() {
var fields = this.form.querySelectorAll(".mimi_field.required"),
_this = this;

for (var i = 0; i < fields.length; ++i) {
var inputs = fields[i].getElementsByTagName('input');
for (var j = 0; j < inputs.length; ++j) {
if (this.fieldType(fields[i]) === 'text_field') {
inputs[j].onkeyup = function() {
var input = this;
if (input.getAttribute('name') === 'signup[email]') {
if (_this.validEmail.test(input.value)) _this.validate();
} else {
if (input.value.length === 1) _this.validate();
}
}
} else {
inputs[j].onchange = function(){ _this.validate() };
}
}
}
}
});

if (document.addEventListener) {
document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function() {
new Mimi.Signups.EmbedValidation();
});
}
else {
window.attachEvent('onload', function() {
new Mimi.Signups.EmbedValidation();
});
}
})(this);