The technique of making contemporary painted glass goes back to the Middle Ages.
I use basic leaded glass technique.
The glass is already coloured and comes in big sheets which I buy from several local
suppliers. The glass is usually mouth blown, called "antique", and made in France,
England, Germany, and the West Coast.
Basic Leaded Technique:
First, I make a design to scale and then translate it into a full size layout called a
cartoon; patterns are cut from this. I select each color of glass for each pattern.
The glass shapes are cut with a cutter with wheel, similar to the one the hardware
store sells to cut window glass. The glass pieces are arranged according to the
layout and held together with lead of different widths. These are soldered together
at the joints then the glass is puttied and cleaned.
Glass painting is a special enrichment of this technique. I paint with metal oxides
which are held together temporarily by gum arabic and water in a tempera-like
consistency. My brush strokes and painting methods are, of course, particularly
personal and comtemporary. The glass is held on an easel or light box so I can see
it against the light while I work. Then the painted pieces are fired once or more
for total permananence in a kiln at 900-1200 degrees F.
