The first step is arguably the most important: the early selection of an artist/studio. Now that we have a basic idea of what stained glass is, let’s get back to the nuts and bolts of incorporating stained glass into architecture… Other techniques that attempt to simulate stained glass include overlays and printed laminated glass, but, at best, these are only approximations that do not approach the sparkling lucidity and subtle, saturated color of true stained glass. In Europe this technique is often used as a structural, load-bearing element, but in North America it is used much like its leaded glass cousin. Another technique, called facetted glass, slab glass or dalle de vere, was developed in the early 20th century and is made from thick dalles or slabs of glass joined by a plastic resin matrix. Due to its relative brittleness, copper foiled stained glass is much less resilient than leaded stained glass and is seldom specified in large architectural applications. Louis Comfort Tiffany popularized the copper foil technique. Other stained glass techniques have evolved since Gothic times. Finally the spaces between glass and leading are caulked with glazing compound, the excess caulking is removed and the panel is scrubbed clean. Once a panel has been cut and leaded, all connections or joints between calmes are soldered together creating a continuous stained glass panel. The fabrication of a stained glass panel begins with the enlargement of the stained glass design into a full-scale paper cartoon. Working directly on the cartoon, the stained glazier cuts the glass and connects adjacent pieces with strips of lead called calmes. These calmes resemble tiny “I-beams” and the pieces of glass fit into their grooves. Some of the tools have been electrified, mechanized or plasticized, but the basic technique remains the same as in ages past. Modern stained glass is practically identical to its historical predecessors. From the 12th through 16th centuries stained glass blossomed in the many windowed Gothic Cathedral.
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In any case, by the eleventh century stained glass had come of age in the Romanesque cathedrals of Europe. Leaded glass would have been more accurate, but stained glass is now the irrevocably accepted term in the English language. The color derives from unique chemical recipes prepared by the glass blower. Rather than staining or painting color onto glass, each color in a stained glass window is actually cut from a separate sheet of glass.
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When English travelers first observed French glass painters creating their vitraux, they coined the English term stained glass to describe this novel medium.
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Early in its history in mainland Europe, painting on glass had transformed what began as a transparent, three-dimensional experience into a two-dimensional, if glowing, derivation from easel painting.
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We might as well begin by acknowledging that the English term stained glass is actually a misnomer. What is Stained Glass?īefore exploring the integration of stained glass into architecture, it is probably a good idea to define just what is meant by stained glass… Hopefully this article will help you the next time you are asked to anticipate stained glass. Having been involved in numerous and diverse stained glass commissions, I have learned that although specific solutions vary considerably, there are recurring questions that usually crop up at the start of a project.