Create a strained-glass window from design to cutting, wrapping, and soldering while opening the door to more classes.
About this Class
The art of stained glass is a technique of the ages and the beauty of light filtering through colored glass is awe-inspiring.
Create a stained-glass window using the copper foil technique. You will design, choose your colors, cut glass, precisely fit, wrap your glass pieces in copper foil, and learn a style of soldering unique to copper foil.
For centuries, the technique of leaded glass was the only way to build a glass window. These windows were constructed with lead or brass, limiting the intricacy of the artists’ designs. It wasn’t until the 19th century with the creative endeavors of Louis Comfort Tiffany that the landscape of stained-glass fabrication changed. As a young visionary and artist of means, he is said to have developed the technique of copper foil or - at the very least - perfected this innovation using it in the fabrication of his infamously intricate windows, and specifically, his stained-glass lamps. This technique allows artists to wrap small pieces of glass in the copper tape where lead would be too bulky to allow for intricate and complicated designs.
Following this class, you will be cleared for copper foil fabrication in Glass Studio open studio workshops and be eligible for intermediate and advanced copper foil classes. This also serves as the prerequisite for glass cutting required in any other class.
Details
- Experience levels: All levels
- A $48 materials fee is included in the cost of the class.
- Keep in mind that missing any sessions could affect your ability to complete your project by the time the class concludes.
Project
You will create an 18” x 18” stained-glass window.
Materials
Bring ideas or sketches to class. There will be time for editing and transferring your design during our first session. Designs should have no more than 40 pieces.
Prerequisites
None
Class Policies
Instructor
Diane Bonciolini is the "olini" of Mesolini Glass Studio. Glass is her passion. As a full-time glass artist who has lived and worked on Bainbridge Island since 1977, she grows and changes with every project. She describes glass as having a life of its own. This multifaceted medium shows itself in each of her creations: stained glass, slumped and fused glass, lamp work, or glass combined with concrete.
