Here are a couple of ideas for copper patina.
If you are using a [tag]copper patina[/tag], place some of the liquid copper patina in a separate container and add a couple of drops of lemon juice. This will impart a rosy glow to your copper patina.
Use jeweler’s rouge to polish your copper patinaed items; it will keep the copper glow alive.
It stands to reason that the cleaner and shinier the solder seam is before you apply the patina, the better it will look after you have applied the patina, so thoroughly clean and rub or buff shine the finished solder seams before applying the patina. It should go on more smoothly and give a better finished look.
(See previous post on cleaning the seams to avoid “white mold.”)
Here’s a tip on how to avoid the dreaded “white mold” that sometimes forms on the soldered seams of a completed project.
The white “mold” is actually oxidation that results from flux residue that was not completely removed.
When you are finished soldering, be sure to clean your completed piece with a flux remover or a combination of dish washing liquid and baking soda.
If you are applying a patina, use this cleaning method first, then apply the patina.
Looking for decorative soldering tutorials? I found a website today that has just that: Glass Desires Decorative Soldering.
It is a very nicely designed website with the links for various areas cleverly represented as books. The black slider bar (if you are using Internet Explorer) is a bit hard to use. (If you are viewing with Firefox it shows up normally.)
The site also has tutorials on embossed brass, hammered brass, pearls (one form of decorative solder,) and foiling.
The artist, Candace Reimer. has some very nice pictures of her work, including some refreshingly different Pacific Northwest Indian art designs.
This may inspire me to create some Pacific Northwest patterns for my free pattern section.
This is an issue I have heard differing opinions about. Experts, whose opinions I value, disagree about the best way to clean before soldering.
One opinion is that you should use 000 or 0000 steel wool to clean the surface of copper foil that has visible grime, dirt, residue, or oxidation.
A second opinion is that you should use a Scotch Brite pad, instead of steel wool, because steel wool leaves steel dust that contaminates the solder, which can ruin your project.
An article I read recently concerned rust that resulted from using steel wool to scrub solder lines.
If you have experience with this issue, please leave a comment.
Clean Glass
It is very important to clean your glass well before foiling. Glass dust from grinding, glue residue from pattern pieces, and oil from handling the glass pieces can all prevent the foil from sticking to the glass.
As an added precaution you can clean the glass one last time by wiping the edges with rubbing alcohol.
Trim Foil
For a more perfect solder line trim away overlapping edges and irregularities in the foil before soldering.
I have spoken with people who refuse to use glass saws, preferring to do things the “old fashioned way.”
While I am not such a purist (I have my glass saws- two of them in fact,) I do find it interesting to try working the “old fashioned way.”
Have you ever wondered just how stained glass artists of the past got rid of the rough edges after cutting a piece of glass? (There was stained glass before electric tools – how did they do that?)
They used stained glass hand tools, such as the abrasive stone. An abrasive stone is one of the tools I do have and do use, though certainly not exclusively. It looks like a huge, thick, metal emery board, and you use it in basically the same way, except on the edges of glass. It is made of aluminum oxide, and it is about 10″ long by 2″ wide, and 3/4″ thick. As advertized, it “safely removes sharp edges from glass.”
There are some times when I simply do not want to fill my grinder with water and coolant for one little spot, or waste an expensive grinder bit on an excessively rough edge. (Of course, a good pair of grozing pliers will help you there, and I’ll have a suggestion about that soon.)
The abrasive stone is only $5.95, and I found one at Stained Glass Warehouse, Inc.
Give it a try. We can learn from past masters.
I have been intending to write a review of the Glass Eye 2000 stained glass design creation software for some time, so here it is.
I absolutely love this program! It makes pattern creation soooo easy. Take a look at this example of a finished design and the photo I started with. This afternoon I brought up the Glass Eye 2000 program and imported a photo of one of our pets, Lucky, a loveable stray dog we rescued a few years ago.
Here is the original photo of Lucky. (This is a big file so, if you click on the thumbnail to enlarge, give it time to load.)
In a short time, using the GlassEye 2000, I was able to create a stained glass design of Lucky. I was even able to select specific glass by major art glass manufacturers and view the pattern as it would appear with the glass that I selected.
Glass Eye 2000 allows you to import a .jpg (among other formats) and trace the image to form a pattern. You can also create designs from scratch. You will get faster and better at using the program with practice, but it really is fairly easy. The Dragonfly Software people include a tutorial with the software program that is easy to follow and will get you started. I will warn you – this can be addictive.
Here is a picture of my pattern as it will look when completed in glass. Click on the picture to enlarge it for the best view.
I love playing around with the glass choices. The GlassEye 2K has (last time I looked) over 2600 glass samples from nine of the largest glass companies that you can select from, and it allows you to change the selected glass with the click of a mouse. It is a simple matter to select a general color range and scroll through choices. You can also be specific about a type of glass, (baroque, for instance,) or texture (vecchio, seedy, reed, ripple) and see only that glass in all available colors, or limit glass choice by the manufacturer’s name.
You can export a picture of your finished pattern as a .jpg, such as the picture of Lucky dog, above, so that you can show your friends and family (or potential clients) how the finished piece will look with different colors and textures of glass and get their reaction or advice. My family is used to me saying “how does it look with the Armstrong granite or the Gecko gluechip? Are you sure it doesn’t look better with this Spectrum blue cathedral or the opal wispy?”
You can also see how your finished art work will look with different lead and solder line widths, lead or foil techniques, and different patinas.
You may have noticed that I can label my patterns and the exported pictures with my copyright or other information. You can add text for directions or title right on the pattern. You can also label your pattern pieces with numbers, or color codes that you select.
You can use the ruler to control the size of your pattern and you can resize it, if necessary, with remarkable accuracy. There is even an option to maintain proportions when you resize. There is also grid you can bring up on the screen and remove with a mouse click that helps keep things square.
There are so many great features to this software that I could go on and on, but the best thing you could do would be to check it out yourself. Click here to visit the good folks at Dragonfly software. They have a FREE 30-day trial that will give you a better idea than I can of how great this program is.
Have fun!
Did you know that you can buy stained glass supplies on eBay? Well, you can, and at good prices, too. You can also find mosaic, fusing, jewelry making, and other glass craft supplies there.
I was surprised at what I found. The items include everything from tools such as pattern shears, grinder bits, pliers, glazing hammers, oak fan lamp bases, and diamond saws, to materials such as copper foil, bevels of all sorts sold individually and in clusters, and sheets of glass. You can also buy pattern books or individual patterns. There are also pre-cut suncatchers that allow you to get right to foiling and soldering.
If you need mosaic supplies, you can find mosaic tiles by the pound as well as mosaic cutter nippers and other supplies. eBay also has hot glass items, including kilns.
Give it a try. I’m sure you will find something you like!
Nicole Martins
For anyone who appreciates the detailed beauty of illuminated colored glass, Louis Comfort Tiffany is really the person to thank. Today, the copper foil method is still being used to produce beautiful reproduction Tiffany lighting at affordable prices.
If you are looking for a stained glass pendant fixture, chandelier or lamp, take a look at the manufactures below. These lighting designers make reproduction Tiffany fixtures and you can shop their collections for quality lighting. While these lighting manufacturers make wonderful Tiffany reproductions, they are also popular for other lighting styles and products.
Kichler Lighting -
Well made fixtures using the original turn of the century copper foil method. Collection includes a great variety of table lamps with copper foil lamp shades, on & off pull chain, or 3-way turn switching. Also: stained glass Tiffany chandeliers, pendant lights, down lights, and, ceiling and pool table lighting.
Quoizel Lighting -
This seventy year old lighting manufacturer makes quality Tiffany style lighting that provides warm and inviting light. From chandeliers and mini pendants to table lamps and down lighting, Quoizel has fans far and wide who seek out their Tiffany light fixtures.
Meyda Tiffany -
We love Meyda’s floral Tiffany chandeliers and pendant light fixtures. This lighting manufacturer features a broad range of stunning original design, as well as lighting inspired by world- renowned artists: Louis Comfort Tiffany, Frank Lloyd Wright and Gustav Stickley. Beautiful quality art and stained glass: chandeliers, pendant lighting, pool table lighting, down lights and more. (see: http://www.chandeliers-and-home-lighting.com/tiffany-chandelier.htm)
Robert Louis Tiffany -
A Tiffany style chandelier from the Robert Louis Tiffany Collection embodies some of the best American lighting around with hand cut glass, carefully crafted ornamentation and accents. These chandeliers and light fixtures include classic Tiffany motifs with beautiful stained glass lighting and patterning great for many home styles.
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Nicole Martins is a contributing author and publisher to http://www.chandeliers-and-home-lighting.com, an online resource providing you with great information, articles of interest and reviews of the best selling chandeliers online |
Note: Ever consider making your own stained glass? While a Tiffany Lamp is an expert level project one can make very attractive, much simpler, lamps for not much money. Stop on by your local stained glass supply store and ask about kits and classes. Nothing local? McKee is a good online place for stained glass books, kits, and supplies.
