The art of stained glass is a very dynamic activity and you can never get bored trying out the different options and styles. The range of skills is wide and it varies from knowing how to skillfully cut the glass, all the way to foiling, grinding, soldering and finishing the artwork.
You should know that the art of stained glass has been successfully applied in various contexts and uses such as in zinc framing and lamp photography. As you can see, the art of stained glass is not just limited to coming up with the products, but is also essential in determining how to price them and market the completed pieces. Therefore, here are some key things that you should be at the tip of your fingers if your intention is to become an expert in the art of stained glass.
Know how to handle glass
You should be aware of the many different ways of cutting stained glass that are available. This is because the glass you will buy at your local hardware shops will often be in large sheets. The cutting process itself is an art of stained glass. Be sure to learn how to cut complicated shapes such as deep curves using the tapping technique. Grinding of glass is fairly easy and you should be able to master it within a short time. Another tricky area in dealing with glass and which also requires one to be conversant with art of stained glass is foiling. Poor foiling will give your final piece an ugly look. So practice trimming techniques so that the edge of the foil runs parallel with the curves of your patterns.
Master the soldering process
Soldering is another area that requires care and accuracy. Always make it a habit to use flux so that you can avoid the oxidation of the base and a filler material which tends to make your work messy. You should remember that even soldering is an art of stained glass and how you center the glass followed by how you drop the solder takes practice and lots of experience. Always make sure that all remaining gaps are completely filled. There are alternative ways of doing this and you can choose to either do beading or a patina application to fill the gaps and cracks.
The finished products
Finally, the array of finished products that can be created by the art of stained glass is very wide. The skill has been used to make many products such as lamps, boxes and decorative objects. The lighting effect produced by the stained glass has been used in areas such as photography and film making. The designs of lamps that you can make using stained glass are endless. Therefore, make sure that you research widely and learn how to make such lamps as the Odyssey system lamps and the fiberglass mold lamps. Finally, always remember that mastering some of these skills takes time. So always be patient and never push yourself too hard when you fail. Just go back and try again. |
