Stained Glass Pages

In the fall of 1998 I decided that I needed yet another hobby for my artistic side to express itself, so I took up Stained Glass. I got a few books and looked up things on the internet then went straight to the glass store to get some supplies. After looking at the myriad types of glass available, I decided on a pattern and bought what I needed (actually, much more than I needed, but who knew!).

Here's a brief description of the process: After cutting the glass pieces to fit the pattern, I assemble the pieces using the 'Tiffany method' with copper foil and solder. For all my pieces I use adhesive-backed copper foil to wrap the edges of the glass pieces rather than trying to fit them into lead cames (this makes it easier to produce more intricate designs). After soldering everything together on both the front and back (getting the solder to 'look right' is the most difficult part), I generally apply a chemical patina to the solder to change its colour (usually black; it's just an acid that oxidizes the solder) then I finish the pieces with a stained glass finishing compound (a liquid car wax would do the same thing). I typically hang the pieces from suction cups either with an attached chain or with 12 lb test fishing line through a small loop of copper wire soldered into a seam.

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This was my very first stained glass project. I created this 9.5 inch clock without the use of a grinder (just a glass cutter and a pair of pliers!), so it took me quite a long time to complete. My wife didn't know if I would be successful with this hobby, but after seeing it completed, she bought me a glass grinder for Christmas '98 - it makes my life a lot easier. I can now make pieces to virtually any size and shape that I need (whether I actually do this is usually a matter of how lazy I am...). I decided to use opaque glass in the clock since it was going to be hung against a wall and was only going to be lit from the front. I had trouble finding clock hands that worked well with the colour scheme yet could still be seen from a reasonable distance (the solder lines made it difficult to see), so I ended up painting some brass hands with a pearl white craft paint. I gave this clock to my mother-in-law as a gift for Christmas '98.

These next two pieces with hummingbirds were also some of my early projects. The small bird on the left is only about 3 inches tall and its five pieces can easily be cut and assembled in an hour. I have made a few of these with variations in the glass (e.g. with iridescent green for the back of the head and tail). I use a piece of copper wire for the beak and grind a small notch in the glass for the eye (filled with solder). The circular panel (7 inches wide) was given to my mother as a gift.

These three geometric designs were created by myself with lots of inspiration from stained glass design books. The purple star uses 'wavy' clear glass and was originally going to be part of a larger panel. I liked it as it was before I put any border pieces on, so I stopped there. Unfortunately, I only had 'copper-backed' foil to use, so the copper colour shows through the clear glass when examined closely. For the other two panels above, I used different colours of foil (black and silver, respectively) to match the final colour of the solder (the blue green panel has 'natural solder' but it looks somewhat like pewter when it is back-lit; I have since changed its solder colour to black). I soon discovered that I liked using beveled glass (bevels are relatively cheap and add a nice sparkle to the panels) and have incorporated them into many projects since then. I usually buy a bunch of 'bevels' as I see them in the store and only later decide how to use them. The gold and red panel is 5 inches square and the blue/green panel is 9 inches square.

The tulip above was made as a quick project and it is about 6.5 inches tall. I used cranberry glass that had some variation in its colour for the petals (it was expensive, but I only bought a small chunk of it). The hummingbird feeder next to it was sort of a joke piece. I decided that a solitary 3 inch hummingbird looked too lonely in a large window, so I needed to make a coordinating item. I thought that a flower was a bit predictable for me (if you know me, you'll understand...) so I decided on something a little different. Since most stained glass projects are a representation of the real world, I thought that I might as well show what most people see when they catch a glimpse of a live hummingbird. As a hummingbird feeder is puportedly designed to look similar to a flower (in order to attract the birds in the first place) this piece is a ' representation of a representation ' of reality, if you will. I patterned it after my neighbour's feeder (I can see it from my back window). Although the photo doesn't show it well, I used some wavy clear glass and another one of my scraps of cranberry glass (yes, I'm cheap!) in this piece. The scale of the feeder is just about right next to the small hummingbird.

In June 99 I decided that the post lamp in our front yard was looking too ugly to ignore and that it needed some replacement glass (the sandblasted glass pieces in the fixture had been broken for years). Since I am not someone for doing things normally, I bought some beveled glass and created a pattern to fit (all four sides are the same). Since Wendy didn't really want colour (and neither did I) and we both didn't like completely clear glass (boring! ) I found a nice glue chip beveled glass. (Glue chip glass is prepared by coating a piece of glass with a special type of glue and allowing it to dry. In the process of drying, the glue 'chips' the surface of the glass to create a somewhat opaque feathery pattern. The pattern created is dependent on the glue composition, as well as the speed and temperature of drying, among other things.) I was able to find beveled glass pieces that had a similar glue chip pattern in the centre. The most difficult part of this project was fitting everything into the lamp housing. I guess it has been bent out of shape over the years. I ended up re-cutting each of the four panels several times to make them fit. The individual panels are about 7 inches tall and 9 inches wide at the top.

My first 3-D project (actually, my first successful 3-D project - ask Wendy...) was made as a gift for my mother. She was interested in a stained glass box, so I made her one with white, rose, and green glass. It is about 8 by 6 by 3 inches and stands on commercially available metal feet.

After the Rose box, I decided to try another 3-D item, something I saw at a craft show and thought would be easy to make (I made a quick drawing while at the show to make sure that I got it right). I went to a stained glass store and bought 12 identical 6" shield bevels (beveled glass pieces that look like a square with one extended corner). I wrapped these in foil and soldered them together to make a Star. This one is 12" in height, so it is pretty large. I have it hanging in my front window to catch the light. Click here to view the instructions on how to build a 3-D Star (15kb, pdf file).

After seeing some stained glass birds at a different craft sale (believe me, I really don't go to that many of them, it was just a fluke!) I decided to make some of my own. I made this Chickadee on a branch and incorporated some red glass 'globs'. I gave this one to some friends as a housewarming gift at the end of October 99.

I realized that I had too many bevels piling up on my light table, so I decided to make a few quick projects. The first, below, is a simple geometric design with 3 shades of purple and 4 corner bevels. I used silver-backed foil and left the solder untreated - I don't really like the silver colour too much (and Wendy quite rightly points out that the edges are not even - I have since refinished the edges to make them look better). The next is an abstract flower design using (wait for it...) more pieces of my cranberry glass (I originally bought one 6"x8" piece, but it has gone a long way!) and 4 star bevels. These bevels are actually 2" square bevels that have been ground down on their edges (I bet that they are the 'factory seconds' and this is a smart way of making money from them). I really liked the result with black patina and black-backed foil. I gave this as a gift at Christmas '99.

As with many people who do stained glass, I eventually decided to get into mosaic work I bought some white Mosaic stone cement powder and used the lids from disposable Petri dishes for moulds. I started with a simple design and a limited colour scheme, and put together a set of 4. With all the extra cut pieces (and extra cement) I made four more coasters.

Adam was also eager to make coasters with the cement that I mixed up, he made some and decorated them with pencil crayons once they were dry. He doesn't use them, but he also refuses to give them away.

After my success with the large beveled glass 3-D star, I wanted to make the same pattern (but much smaller) with coloured glass. For these 'suncatchers with a difference', I cut 12 identical pieces and put them together (the base of each piece must be a right angle or it won't work - the point can be any size you want). I started by making a 7" Red Star, and following that, I made an even smaller version (4.75") in both pink and purple. All of the stars have been given away as gifts. Click here to view the instructions on how to build a 3-D Star (15kb, pdf file).

While cutting out the pieces for the 3-D stars above, I serendipitously put a number of the pieces together on my workbench and was please with the pattern it made. I quickly drew a sketch and later decided to recreate the effect. I took two 5" circular pieces of glass (one pink, the other clear glue chip) and made the equivalent of 5 cuts on each. After trimming the edges, I interchanged the colours and made two identical items. Adam thinks they look like snowflakes.

Just for fun, I decided to make a tropical fish in March 2000. Using black and yellow (opaque) glass, I created this 4 inch fish. I think I may add others to the school in the future and perhaps make my own aquarium scene.

I started cuuting glass for a major project commissioned by Wendy's Aunt and Uncle in May. I designed a set of two panels that follow the colours and style of a Peruvian carpet hanging above their stairwell. This project is most definitely the largest I have attempted - each panel is 9"x30" and will freely hang in paired windows of their living room. In total, there are 636 pieces to put together! See below for the completed panels.

Before I started cutting the pieces for the large project described above, I needed to get back into the stained glass groove after not having made anything since March. One Saturday when Adam and I were at the stained glass store, we came across a piece of clear glass covered with bumps or "bubbles". We both really liked it, so I bought a piece without knowing exactly what I would do with it. I also found a great piece of blue antique glass and started to get an idea for a simple abstract pattern with curves. I picked up a piece of the bubble glass, randomly cut a lazy S curve into it, and then took some of the blue and cut it to fit. After adding a few more colours, I ended up with a design that I was comfortable with, so I soldered it together using silver backed foil and zinc channel (around the edges). I showed it to Adam and he liked it much better when I held it horizontally as a 'landscape' rather than as a vertical portrait. I agreed and decided that it looked like an abstract landscape with a hint of water and waves. I know, that's stretching it a bit, but hey - this is art!

I have done a few more small pieces as gifts since then. One is a candle holder made with bevels and a few pieces of red and gold glass. I think it looks like a crown. The next is another (somewhat more successful?) attempt at making chickadees on a branch. It is a little better constructed than my earlier attempt and it is in a more vertical orientation. I gave this one to my mother-in-law for Christmas since she liked my earlier version. My son, Adam, also made a stained glass piece - a picture of his brother. He has since made another composition of scrap pieces of my glass.

Just before Christmas 2000, I started making a few 3-dimensional projects again. I put together bevels with a few other pieces of glass and mirror to make small candle holders. These three images show some of the pieces that I have given away.

After a short break I decided to make a quick project with some of the small leftover pieces of glass from the large panels (above). In a design quite similar to what Adam created, I made 3 separate panels that look like patchwork quilts and mounted them together to make a triangular chimney lamp. A piece of red oak was used as a base and I wired up a 60 watt chandelier bulb with an inline 2-position dimmer switch. I'm not certain what I'll do with it, but I like the final results.

I went back to making more of those 3-d stars, this time even smaller and with glue chip glass and another with red glass (about 2.5 or 3 inches tall). Click here to view the instructions on how to build a 3-D Star (15kb, pdf file).

.I must have noticed that I had a lot of bevels piling up in my workshop since I made several small projects in a row with them. The first two were simple panels with gold glass, red globs, and clear bevels. I gave one away and kept the other since they turned out very well.

I put together another 3-D project similar to the candle holders above, and this one I gave away to potentially be used as a paperclip holder. The deep purple glass glows nicely when the light refracts through the bevels and bounces off the mirrored bottom. I also had a number of 'globs' to get rid of, so I assembled 8 of them with 4 small bevels to create a globe or ball that sparkles when it spins in the sunlight. I have no idea what to do with it (perhaps hang it from a rear view mirror?), but I like the result.

My mother gave me a stained glass design book for my birthday, so I decided to make one of the projects and send it back for her birthday. It is a fall coloured maple leaf that hangs upside down and is about 6 inches tall. I used Yogi glass that I bought especially for this project (unusual for me - I usually buy glass and later decide what to do with it). This glass is hard to cut, but with some grinding, it wasn't too difficult to complete. I think it turned out well, and I have had a number of requests to make more.

Since I felt I hadn't done many pieces for along while (April to July 2003), I decided to make some small ones to get back into doing glass. For my mother's birthday, I made a small sunflowerto go with her kitchen theme and a small abstract bevel piece that incorporated a test-tube that could be used for rooting plant cuttings.

After another long break (until late January 2004), I wanted to bring a small gift to a Chinese New year/Spring Festival Party at a neighbour's house. I put together a couple of these panels (the character means Eternity or Forever) and I kept one for myself.

For a long while I had wanted to make this pattern with bamboo. I finally found the time and made this wall-hanging panel for my mother.

I had purchased the fitting to make a lamp many months ago and had never gotten around to making the lamp. I originally wanted to make three panels of the bamboo pattern (above) but I really didn't like the colour of the glass with an incandescent bulb behind it (too yellow). Instead, I found some interesting glass in my cupboard that I hadn't used much, and decided to make a lamp. I didn't have a pattern in mind - I just let it develop as I cut pieces. To make things sparkle more, I added some small beveled clear glass pieces that I had found at a dollar store (I think they were about 25 pieces for a dollar).

After quite a long time of doing no stained glass (yes, sometimes I am too busy or too tired to do glass work...), I got back into things and made a number of small projects to give away as gifts. The first was my own version of a stained glass Inukshuk that we bought on a trip to Newfoundland - it used a bunch of glass scraps. I made another glass maple leaf (it seems to be popular - this one was a darker orange than my first) and have plans to make more of these in varying colours. They are fairly quick to make (about 1 hr) and I now simply work with a single piece of glass in the shape of the leaf outline then I cut all the vein lines and put the pieces back together after foiling them. This avoids the extensive grinding and fitting that I had to do with my first leaf.

I made a pencil holder as a small retirement gift for a colleague but decided to make my life difficult by using several inside corner cuts - try this with glass yourself and you will see how difficult it can be! I did most of the shaping with the glass cutter but used my grinder to finish off the inside corner.

I made a concerted effort in January 2007 to get some small pieces ready for family gifts before I went on a short trip to Manitoba, all of which took only an hour or two to make. I like the second version of the Inukshuk better - I still used scrap pieces to make it, but was more somewhat more selective in my colour choices.

I had a pile of dichroic bevels sitting in a drawer (they transmit yellow light but will reflect violet light) and finally decided to put them together in a panel with more clear glass and standard bevels. It worked well and will benefit from being in a very sunny window. I've done chickadee patterns before, but this one was a little simpler to make and the green leaf and red globs adds an almost Christmas theme to the project.

Since I held a 1-year research fellowship from the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation - Ontario Chapter in my 'day job', I decided to make a breast cancer pink ribbon with some extra glass that I pulled out while making the last few projects above. It was very simple to make and I think it adds a nice touch to my office at the Cancer Centre.