Everyone has seen stained glass artwork in some form - maybe you've been "wowed" by elaborate church windows or you've added a little decor to your patio with a glass sun catcher. In any case, the thought may have crept into your mind, "Hmm, I think I'd like to try making something like that."
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Sonya Stephens, owner of Longview's Glass Garden Crafters Mall, works on a stained glass project for a customer.
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And you can! It's not the easiest hobby on earth, but with a little time and a lot of patience, you could be making your own little sun catchers or window decor.
Sonya Stephens, owner of downtown Longview's Glass Garden Crafters Mall, has been creating beautiful stained glass pieces since the mid-'70s. She turned her passion into a career, and now she teaches classes in order to help others understand and appreciate the technique of what she does.
Creative cat
"One misconception about stained glass work is that you have to be creative in order to produce something amazing," Sonya said. "I'm here to tell you that you don't have to have a creative bone in your body to do what I do. All you need to do is just learn the technique."
Sonya likens making a work of stained glass to sewing a dress, noting that a person uses a similar process in glass as in sewing.
"It's very step-by-step and systematic," she said. "People who sew will definitely see the similarities."
Both hobbies require conceiving a design, creating a pattern and then cutting and assembling the materials, while always keeping the end product in mind.
A worthwhile investment
"There are basically two ways to learn the art," Sonya said. "Make the initial investment and buy all the fancy tools needed to do the craft, or go to classes, use the tools provided and then see if you'd like to make the investment."
For a set of basic tools, you're looking at a $50-$60 investment. For the high-dollar tools it could cost more than $400.
"My advice to those who haven't done this before is to take some classes," Sonya said. "Not only is it less costly, but also you'll learn how to use the tools properly. But, if you want to just jump right into it because you think you'll be doing this for awhile, go for it. It can be done!"
Start it up
If you're wanting to jump right into the craft, you'll need specific tools. These can all be found at the Glass Garden Crafters Mall, or you can call any local hobby supply or craft store to see what's available. Decide on a pattern you like, then start shopping! Be sure to get:
Glass cutter
Glass pliers
Soldering iron
Hand grinder
Pattern shears
Lathekin/fid
Marking pens
Safety goggles
1 roll of copper foil
Glue stick
1 pound solder
Flux and applicator brush
Stained glass
Glass cleaner and rags
"To do this craft from home, you must set up a dedicated working space," Sonya said. "You can't just do this one evening on your living room floor, especially with kids or animals around. Pick a room to call your 'shop,' even if it's only for a few days."
Now that you have all of your tools assembled in your work space, the fun really beings! Follow Sonya's basic steps to create your first foil assembly project:
1 Make a copy of your pattern. One you'll use to build on (the layout pattern), and the other you'll use to cut apart (the cutting pattern).
2 Number both patterns using your marking pens, and cut the cutting pattern with pattern shears.
3 Use your glue stick to glue the numbered, cutout shapes directly onto your stained glass.
4 Score the glass. Standing in a comfortable position, start at the edge of the glass closest to you, and apply light, even pressure to the cutter.
5 Break out your pieces. When breaking out a score, wear your goggles and stand with your elbows in close to your sides. Position your glass pliers (with the flat jaw on top) parallel to the score line. Hold the stained glass firmly and apply even pressure while snapping up and away.
6 Grind pieces to fit. Once you've finished cutting out all your numbered glass pieces, fit them onto your numbered layout pattern. You'll need to grind pieces down in order to make them fit perfectly. Take your hand grinder, which looks like a big emery board, and grind each piece so that the edges are smooth.
7 Clean each piece with glass cleaner and rags.
8 Foiling is the process by which the edge of the piece of glass is wrapped with a strip of copper foil. Take the copper foil and hold it between your first and middle fingers. The paper backing of the foil should be on top, the nonadhesive side of the foil should be face down. Attach the foil to the edge of the glass, and be sure to keep the foil centered on the glass edge as you foil each piece. Peel back the paper while rolling the glass away from you. When you reach the starting point, overlap the foil a tiny bit and cut it with regular scissors.
9 Press the foil around the edges of the glass.
10 Use a lathekin/fid to smooth the foil against the glass using slight pressure.
11 Once all of your stained glass pieces fit snugly, you are ready to flux and tack solder. You don't need any space between foiled pieces. Using a flux brush, apply a small amount of flux to each joint and "tack solder." Tack soldering is applying a small amount of solder to each joint so that your pieces are held in one place. Next, apply a light, even coating of flux to all seams.
12 Solder the pieces together. Here is where a small amount of coordination is required. Feed the solder against the flat side of the tip and lightly touch the iron to the copper foil seam. Move the iron slowly and smoothly across your copper foil seam at the same time you feed the solder against the tip.
13 After you have completed one side of your piece, carefully turn it over and repeat the soldering process. Once you've finished soldering, clean your stained glass piece, attach a hook to it and hang it proudly inside or outside your home!
