Boy, I have a much greater appreciation for the artisans of this elegant, physical, difficult, and time-consuming art form than I did before my beginning class!
My post-class questions include, "What would the artisans of the past be able to create with the tools now available that weren't during their time?" Also, "How in the heck did they do it with the tools they had??"
Stained glass-making is not easy. Cutting glass is a trying experience. Glass is finicky, and not all glass will break according to its scoring (initial cutting that doesn't break the glass). Each type of glass is different. It's better to cut on the smoother side (easier), but that doesn't mean it's easy nor does it guarantee a great or clean cut.
Then, there's the process of preparing the glass for soldering so that it fits into the cartoon (design/ pattern) image of the final product. Soldering is an art form as well...with the goal that it doesn't detract from what the artisan wants to communicate through the stained glass image or pattern, but also provides stability for the glass to stay in place.
My beginning class was scheduled for 9 hours but took me almost 13 to finish. Many reasons for the additional time needed was that I chose a wave pattern that took many tries to cut the curves into a wave form. Those many tries were due to the glass breaking in unexpected ways and/or curves breaking beyond the scored lines. Then there were the misshapen pieces that required grinding. Grinding takes a lot of time especially for curves.
Now that I can look at the class in arrears, it was quite an undertaking for the instructor as well as the students. This is a serious art form where injury is easy. It must be done carefully, and with attention to detail and safety. The most forgiving part is soldering because the solder can be reheated and adjusted by the soldering iron. Glass, however, can only be shaped down -- not up. Meanwhile, the shaping of it without further cutting (as well as the misshapen bits) can take hours with a grinding machine.
That said, there were many patient people in my class and we all left with completed projects...some of which we thought were going to be failures. But there are 'tricks' of the trade so-to-speak that allow for some problems that arise to be rectified without affecting the overall project cartoon. The instructor, thankfully, knew many of those tricks.
In this zine, I've included historical information, our process key points, and a photo of the final project. I'm delighted to have completed a first attempt at this art form that amazes me in how such pieces dance with light and delight us!
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