Stained Glass
Wednesday, January 19th, 2005
The term stained glass refers either to the material of colored glass or to the art and craft of working with it.
As a material the term generally refers to glass that has been coloured by adding metallic salts during its manufacture. Painted details and yellow stain are often used to enhance the design. The term is also applied to windows in which all the colours have been painted onto the glass and then annealed in a furnace.
Stained glass, as an art and a craft, requires the artistic skill to conceive the design, and the engineering skills necessary to assemble the decorative piece, traditionally a window, so that it is capable of supporting its own weight and surviving the elements.
Although usually set into windows, the purpose of stained glass is not to allow those within a building to see out or even primarily to admit light but rather to control it. For this reason stained glass windows have been described as ‘illuminated wall decorations’.
Fused Glass is a term used to describe glass that has been fired (heat-processed) in a kiln at a range of high temperatures. I use the process of stacking, or layering thin sheets of glass, often using different colors to create patterns or simple images. The stack is then placed inside a kiln which slowly raises the temperature until the separate pieces begin to bond together. The longer the kiln is held at the maximum temperature the more thoroughly the stack will fuse, eventually softening and rounding the edges of the original shape. Once the desired effect has been achieved at the maximum desired temperature, the kiln temperature is brought down to avoid devitrification. It is then allowed to cool slowly over a specified time, soaking at specified temperature ranges which are essential to the annealing process. This prevents uneven cooling and breakage and produces a strong finished product.