Many people who work with stained
glass use only the copper foil method of holding the pieces of glass
together. But when you know how to use lead came as well as copper
foil, the
choice becomes which is better for any given artwork. For me, the
decision to use lead came is the correct decision about 95% of the time. That is
why I am about to show you how a leaded artwork in stained glass is
done.
After discussing the clients' setting, desires, and constraints, one or
more initial
designs are created on my computer, then submitted for client review on
a private web page. Once I have gotten client feedback concerning their
likes and dislikes, I produce further versions of the design. This goes
on until the clients are happy with the design. Once the final version
of the design is set, it is printed out (small) on paper to aid in
creating a
very precise full size drawing of the artwork. While many stained glass
artisans think it's ok to enlarge a design at their local
copy-shop, the precision I strive for in my own work requires that I
blow up the design to full size with mechanical drawing skills. If
you're thinking of commissioning stained glass, be sure to ask about
how an artisan does this... it's an easily obtained insight into the
attitude and the skill level of an artisan you're considering using.
While the full
size design is being constructed, the choice of which glasses to use is
discussed. While I used to submit photos (such as the ones shown below)
to facilitate this discussion, in recent years I have moved toward
encouraging the clients to trust me to select the glasses myself. While
this is not a requirement of commissioning me, it does help me to
select glasses that match the final design and go together well. The
drawback with photos is that they can never show all of the aspects of
glass (true color, light transparency, texture, etc.). In all of the
times I have done a project this way, not one client has been
unsatisfied with the results. |
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The green glass for the border is
chosen. |
| Glasses for the sun and moon are
considered. |
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1] The full size drawing is cut into
separate pieces of paper.
2] The paper is glued to the glass.
3] The
glass is cut to size. |
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After these
paper patterns are used to cut shapes from this large piece of white
glass, all of the glass pieces will be ground smooth along their edges with a diamond-bitted router. |
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Once all
of the glass is cut and ground smooth, putting it together is like
assembling a jugsaw puzzle. Here, my son is helping his dad by figuring
out where each piece goes. |
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Once the
glass jigsaw puzzle is completely laid out, the paper patterns are
removed and the first true glimpse of the artworks is seen. You can see small
circles that have been left out. These holes are where faceted glass jewels will be added in
later. |
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With zinc
along the outside edges for strength, the interior of the artwork is
constructed one leadline and one piece of glass at a time. Pieces are
held tightly in place with nails and scrap bits of lead. The hammer and
the needle-nose
pliers
are the most commonly used tools. |
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The border design begins to take
shape. |
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Although
most artisans build a stained glass panel on top of a full size paper
pattern, my methods for shaping the glass pieces are so precise that no
full size template is necessary. |
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Figuring
out the proper order in which elements of the design should be leaded
into place is crucial to avoiding leading oneself into the proverbial
corner. |
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Sometimes, fitting in the last
pieces into one section of the design before going on to the next
section is tricky. |
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Finally, the construction is
complete and the panel is ready to be soldered where one leadline meets
or touches another. |
| Once
the artwork is soldered on both sides, it is washed. Then, the zinc,
lead, and solder are darkened with a chemical patina that
turns
all of these metallic parts to a charcoal gray. |
The final artwork can be seen here.
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