The Guitar Man

My son Nadav (aka son #3) came for a short visit and suggested that we do some stained glass together.  This is only his second stained glass project, so it's a good example of what a dedicated beginner can do (with some help). 

Step 1: Nadav found a photo snapped of him playing guitar in a concert from several years ago and I created a simple stained glass pattern from it.  I photocopied the pattern so that we'd have a master to work with after we cut up the original. Here you see the original photo and the new pattern.

Steps 2 and 3:

(Step 2 -Left) Nadav selected the glass. To save time, I cut out the pieces.  Nadav ground the edges, washed, and foiled everything.
(Step 3 - Right)  Once we had all the pieces ready, we point-soldered the pieces together to hold them in place before full-soldering front and back.

Step 4: One of the challenges was making guitar man stand up.  Nadav designed some big amps.  We originally thought to add one to each side at an angle.  As we worked, we moved the pieces and created one double-sided amp, which we soldered very firmly at several points to his leg.  The hearts are solid brass pieces that we coated with a layer of solder.

Step 5: After all the pieces were soldered together, Nadav used acid to blacken the guitar and strap, plus his hairline.  All other seams were left silver.  After the acid patina was applied, the Nadav scrubbed everything down yet again with dishwashing liquid and and old toothbrush. 

The finished piece next to the original photograph:

And the finished piece held by the original guy!