Posts Tagged ‘Glass’

How to Make Stained Glass

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The practice of making stained glass has been around for quite a long time. Stained glass windows and churches seem to go hand-in-hand, and you will find some of the earliest samples of stained glass artwork in churches on the European continent. Nowadays, stained glass is not confined to only churches and other such religious places; you can also see stained glass art in homes, offices, hotels, restaurants, hospitals and so on. We now have stained glass installed in windows, doors, ceilings, room-dividers, mirrors, lampshades, sun-catchers, gift boxes and many other items. Used properly, stained glass artifacts can transform the look of a place from commonplace to something quite extraordinary.

If, like me, you love stained glass objects, you could have a go at making them yourself. The craft of stained glass is not difficult to learn, as long as you follow the instructions, take all proper precautions and put in enough practice.

Tools Required

Once you’ve decided you are going to take up stained glass making, you might as well buy the best tools in the market. They may be a tad expensive, but will give you good value for your money in the long run. Here are some of the tools you will need:
Glass Cutter – get a self-lubricating one with a tungsten Read more »

Stained Glass History

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Making stained glass is an ancient art that can be traced back to the early Egyptians. Although the first colored glass may have been used as jewelry or even currency, we probably know the art form best from seeing stained glass in the windows of churches. These windows are really paintings that use light, glass and a metal framework to create a design.

The earliest stained glass windows were created for the Roman Catholic Church, and often told Bible stories in pictures. This was at a time when most people couldn’t read, so these luminous paintings were one of the few representations of the glory and transcendent nature of their spiritual beliefs. At a time before television, radio or even pictures painted on canvas, stained glass windows wer­e probably one of the most dramatic, instructive and important works of art most people were exposed to.

Many of these ancient masterpieces have been lost as a result of religious upheavals and political strife, but many still remain, like the stained glass windows at Chartres Cathedral in France, or at Canterbury Cathedral in England. Read more »

My First Mosaic Using Stained Glass

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I have just completed my first Mosaic and am very excited to share this with others, hope you like it. The project took me about a week because I kept changing my mind on what design I wanted. I found the mirror at a garage sale for 2 dollars and thought this will be the perfect mirror to try my first mosaic on. All of my glass was left over pieces from previous stained glass projects, what a way to use your scrap glass. The photo’s below show what the mirror looked like when I purchased it and in process through the final grouting,  please ignore the person in the mirror. All the glass and edges had to be masked so when I was ready to grout it wouldn’t get on the mirror.

Next was to draw the design on the frame, I am not a very good artist so that was a bit difficult, but I made it through with determination. Next I cut all the pieces and laid them in place. Looking pretty good by then so I carry on with the next step which was to start gluing all of them down (I used Glass Metal and More glue by Beacon adhesives) and applying the grout (Simple grout). The glue and grout both came from Home Depot premixed, which I like very much. Final drying time was 48 hours. This grout also comes in different colors, I chose the grey to match my decor.  The only thing left was to clean up the the entire piece with a sponge, clean all the edges and finally clean the glass. I am very happy with this first Mosaic project, I hope you also will enjoy viewing this piece. I will have to do some more of these little projects, to share with my family and friends.

 

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Bring Focus to your Stained Glass Projects

Patinas are used to color or darken solder lines. The most common patina colors are black and copper. Using patinas brings the focus on the glass and the design of your stained glass piece. This makes the glass colors, textures and designs of the stained glass piece the main focus. Below is one without patina and one after patina.

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Before you apply patinas, be sure all flux residues is removed. This can be done using a commercial flux remover or washing the stained glass piece with dish soap and baking soda.
Steps for Applying Patinas
Use a brush, rag or cotton ball to dab patina on to the zinc frame. Do not use a brushing action, as this can leave streaking or patchy coverage. Read more »

Our Second Project was Really Fun

Second Project

I am behind on my post, sorry about that but the whole crew has been sick for almost a month. Things are getting back to normal now from the holidays and this terrible bronchitis, so let’s get busy. I do have to say our second project was really fun we had to pick our own thing to do, so of course I picked a girly thing and my husband picked something more manly. I chose to do a Magnolia, which I love magnolia’s and he picked a landscape scene. It was pretty easy picking the color’s this time and the teacher was very helpful. Matching colors can be a little difficult at first but that gets easier.

So we cut out all the pattern pieces and started cutting the glass, I was still not very good at that and broke quite a few pieces, which means you start over by cutting out the pattern again and gluing again.  My husband was doing way better than I was at the glass cutting and grinding, this was stressing me out, I thought I was never going to be able to keep up with him. So of course this started to be a little competitive and I had to get better or I was never going to catch up. Read more »

Selecting a Quality Stained Glass Studio

Quality Staiend Glass Studio selection

Everyone wants to know the magical formula to select the correctstained glass studio to complete his or her project. While a studio cannot do this for you, there are ways to sort through the information and make a quality selection.

A common question that the clergy will ask a stained glass studio is, “How do I get an apples to apples bid?” Unlike many industries, stained glass is extremely specialized. Often, others do not know the terms and jargon outside the industry. This is what inspired Associated Crafts to write this article.

The other aspect of this industry is the lack of regulation by the industry. The industry consists of many smaller companies started by craftsmen and artists who took a hobby and changed it into a career. This is certainly admirable but these individuals often do not have the knowledge of all the facets of the business or of stained glass. Professional studios often compete with specifications written by some completely incompetent companies. This is why we diligently work to educate our clients. Often times, a simple understanding of terms and jargon will allow the church to see the correct scope of work. Read more »