Few people understand the amount of work that goes into a good stained glass window. Now that fabricated ‘stained’ glass with stick-on lead and clear acrylic paint features in modern double-glazing the art of the craft is becoming further debased.
First the design is made on a small scale for approval and the glass is selected from sample pieces to the client’s and artist’s tastes. The glass used can either be machine-made glass or the more expensive Antique Glass which has unique variations in colour and texture that give it more beauty and interest.
A full scale cartoon in pencil or colour is made to show all cut/lead lines of the piece with the width of leads involved and any details in painting and staining. Then the designer makes a cut-line trace from the cartoon which is used as the template for the whole panel. Pieces of glass are cut to size from flat sheets and put into context on a light box. After this any applied processes are done on the surface of the glass, such as acid etching, staining, painting, enamelling and sandblasting.
