Stained Glass Patterns and Tips from GlassSorcery.com

Celebrate Honest Abe’s birthday- Feb 12th with this Abraham Lincoln stained glass suncatcher or small panel.

Our 16th president, Lincoln was elected to two terms and served as President from 1861 until his death in 1865. Abraham Lincoln was born February 12, 1809 and was assassinated on Good Friday, April 14, 1865.

Use this link for the Abraham Lincoln stained glass pattern in a black & white jpg and the Glass Eye 2000 format.

This pattern contains a few small pieces and some that may require the use of a glass saw. Pupil and lines on forehead and ear should be painted.

To learn more about Abraham Lincoln visit the White House.

• » Comments (0)

We have just posted a page of links to articles on the history of glass in general and the history of stained glass in particular.  There is also a listing of links to various museums with stained glass exhibits. Some of the museums have good photos of their stained glass  exhibits that can be viewed online.

The articles make interesting reading and add to the stained glass artist’s appreciation of this fascinating medium. Viewing the historic examples of stained glass art by masters of the genre also provides inspiration. So visit our page and get inspired, then come and review our free stained glass patterns and select one and begin making your own personal stained glass museum.

• » Comments (0)

I was working on a stained glass panel recently on which I intended to use copper patina. The common wisdom is to use the copper patina immediately after you have soldered and cleaned the piece; delay results in black spots or blotches in the patina.

Unfortunately, I was called away just after I completed my soldering and clean up, and it was a few days before I could get back into my studio to work again. I was not looking forward to the problems I would face with my copper patina, so I kept putting it off. I procrastinated so successfully that three weeks went by before I forced myself to deal with the problem.

I searched the internet for answers and only found more reinforcement for the position that a decent copper patina simply could not be achieved even 24 hours after the completion of the soldering and clean up.
Hmmm . . . Bad news, but I was determined to go forward and make this work.

The decision regarding patina must be reached early on in the life of a project when the foil is applied. Depending on the patina selected, black-backed, copper-backed, or silver-backed foil is used on clear or cathedral glass where the backing will show through.

The panel I was working on included some clear glass and some light colored cathedrals, so the copper backed foil I had used in anticipation of copper patina would stand out clearly and glaringly, unless I could achieve a decent copper patina.

The reason for proceeding immediately is to avoid any oxidation or contamination which will spoil the result, so I decided to clean the soldered seams as much as I could.

I washed and scrubbed the project in dish soap and baking soda, and it looked pretty good. I then decided to make use of my Dremel. I experimented until I found a metal brush attachment that would clean up the solder seams without destroying them. I went over all of the seams carefully with the Dremel with the metal brush attachment. As a last step, I polished the piece with Kem-O-Pro Finishing Compound (probably any good polish would do,) and buffed it with the Dremel and by hand until no more black would come off and the piece was a shiny silver. That was a lot of work, but well worth it!

Finally, I applied the copper patina and dried the piece with paper towels. (Note: Do not wash the piece with water again. Water will discolor the patina and leave the spots and blotches we all dislike so much.)

Success! I had a rich clear even copper patina with no spots or blotches. Woo hoo!

The best scenario is to immediately patina, but if you encounter a delay, such as I did, be reassured. You can still achieve a beautiful copper patina. Do a thorough job of washing with dish soap and baking soda (to remove any flux residue,) and then polish, polish, polish. If you do not have a Dremel, just apply more elbow grease with your polishing. I believe that the most important step is to polish the piece until no more black comes off and it shines silver.

For more helpful hints on how to finish your stained glass pieces visit our Tutorials on the Web page and view the finishing section. Go forth and patina with confidence.

• » Comments (1)

Last week we brought out a new page filled with links to stained glass tutorials. One of the artists whose tutorials are listed there is Ichiro Tashiro. Mr. Tashiro is a self-taught, outstanding stained glass artist. He opened a stained glass studio in Japan in 1978.

The Tashiro Stained & Leaded Glass Studio website has a 500-photograph slide show and five galleries with excellent photographs of Mr. Tashiro’s exquisite and meticulously crafted works of art. His work is very precise and highly detailed. As he notes in his profile, some of the pieces of glass he works with are smaller than grains of rice.

I particularly like his stained glass light boxes shown in Gallery 3, especially the little birds and the momji (autumn leaves.) If you like lamps, be sure to visit the third of the eight slide shows; it has exquisite lamps. Some of the lamps are adorned with butterflies that appear so realistic you will expect them to spread their wings and flutter away. The slide shows take a little time to load, but they are well worth the wait.
Mr. Tashiro has included four technical sections on his site containing detailed descriptions and photos of his method, which were included in our guide to tutorials.

I highly recommend a visit to Ichiro Tashiro’s website.

• » Comments (0)

Demonstrate the serenity and peace of the Christmas message with this Madonna and Child stained glass panel. We have chosen soft blues and creams for the clothing and brilliant yellow gold for the halos.

This pattern is available in a Black & White jpeg and in Glass Eye 2000 format.

• » Comments (0)

Just in time to decorate your tree, here’s a cute and simple stained glass Santa Claus ornament. For extra glitter make Santa’s hat in the traditional red and white using white opalescent and Spectrum Silvercoats in candy apple red. Making the red double sided will allow both sides to reflect the tree lights.

Paint the eyes, nose and eyebrows. Tack the puff ball on the hat to Santa’s mustache for strength.

Use this link for the Santa ornament stained glass pattern in a black & white jpg and in the Glass Eye 2000 format.

• » Comments (0)

Late last night (or was it very early this morning?) we made a complete overhaul and up-date of our Guide to Stained Glass Tutorials, Tips & Techniques on the Net page. Whew!
We added a LOT of links and organized the entire page according to the type of information each link has to offer. There are links for categories such as soldering, lead came method, how to make lamps, and a whole bunch of others.

Go check it out and try some of these tips today.

• » Comments (0)

We have just started a guide to stained glass supplies and stained glass suppliers that sell over the internet.  This page will be updated continuously, so check back often.

Be sure to also visit our other guides. These pages will also be up-dated on an on-going basis.

• Tutorials, Tips & Tricks on the Web
  
  
• Free Stained Glass Patterns on the Web- individual patterns grouped by subject
• Other Websites with Links to Patterns

• » Comments (0)