Process
The process begins with a cartoon, a full size drawing of each section of the window.
A 20” x 24” window can easily have well over 400 sections or pieces of glass.
Starting with the cartoon
Game Of Thrones
The Last Of Us
Peaky Blinders
Breaking Bad
Broken pieces becoming
Better Call Saul
We usually do not paint on the glass surface so our choice of glass is critical. We search the Midwest for a glass that we believe will help pay tribute. From the glass we cut and grind the pieces that will pop our homage. The process of selection takes a couple of days. The process of cutting … well that takes between three to five months.
Choosing the right glass
Spoiler Alert:
Glass Cuts
Delphi Glass
East Lansing Michigan
Game Of Thrones
Glass and Cartoon
The “Game Of Thrones” break lines are drawn on the glass with a white paint pen.
Grinding 1 of the 60 pieces that will become “Game Of Thrones” Drogon.
Horseshoe nails keep all the pieces on the wooden board in place.
Part of Drogon’s copper-foiled glass arm replaces partially cartoon arm.
Nature abhors a vacuum; and there are times when a hole has to be filled.
We tack, flat and bead solder front and back.
Stained glass as a craft and as art has endured for millennia. It is a vibrant art form, dependent on light. Great stained glass cannot be mass produced. Sometimes we add a touch of wit, irony or drama through the hand crafted glass selection. We make our imagery (hopefully) instantly recognizable. To obtain the overall impression, we cut, grind, and grind again until the piece of glass fits the sketch. We then stop and decide what the next piece will be and whether the sketch itself should be altered. We know the glass looks a certain way when the light is from the front. What we don’t know is what sun light or artificial light will do when the light comes from the back.
The video clips illustrate the breaking, the grinding, the foiling, the placing, the hole-filling and the soldering. The process is painstaking and worth every hour.