For example, I have mostly been working on panels meant to be displayed in windows. If you wish to display your art in a window, it must have at least two metal hooks soldered to the frame – and not just any size hooks. I would recommend making sure that the hooks selected to be attached are not easily bendable, no matter what size your panel is. Also, if soldered onto the frame properly there will be no gap between the hook and the frame. Another important point is that these hooks should be on the edge of the top of the frame – do not put them on the sides or close to the top center. This is to provide the best balance for the chain that the piece is hanging from.

Speaking of chains, this part depends on the size of the pice you wish to display as well. For example, I have one of my contemporary flower panels hanging with several strands of fishing line, as I felt that the piece was too small for a heavy chain. I would not recommend the fishing line for a panel the size of my iris panel, however, as that would be too heavy for me to trust the fishing line to hold. A chain would be appropriate in the case of the iris panel. There are different colors and thicknesses of chains available, such as gold or silver. It would all depend of the color scheme of your home and, of course, of the piece itself. The thickness of the chain would be something that depends on the weight of the piece.

As for what to hang the piece from, I would not recommend suction cups for the pieces I have in my gallery posting. Suction cups would only work well for small suncatchers, as anything larger would be too heavy for the suction cup to hold. In these cases I would reccommend  hanging the piece from a nail driven into the wall or window frame, as this would provide more stability than a suction cup.

Now, most of my pieces do not have hooks soldered to them for hanging. In this case, most panels can easily be propped up against the wall on a shelf, or they can be placed the same way that a picture frame can be - in a holder on a table top. Another interesting note, not all stained glass panels have to be framed in zinc or lead – they can be framed in wooden frames, much like regular pictures can be. This is not something that I have tried yet, but plan to someday.

I hope that this post has answered any questions about how to display stained glass panels. Thank you all again for taking the time too read my posts and have a great night!

I thought I would discuss what the process of making a stained glass panel is all about, and yes – there are pictures. Okay, here goes:

The first thing to keep in mind is what glass you are going to use in your design. It is important to note that not only is the color itself very important, but also the texture of the glass and if it is transparent, translucent, or opaque. If you have your colors picked out, you should look at your pattern and try to visualize what the finished piece will look like. Ask yourself if you want more red or white in your panel, or if you want more wavy glass or smooth glass – questions like that. Make sure that you have your mind made up before you start cutting your pieces, as glass can break and you may not have enough left over to change your mind later.

Okay – for my example, I chose to make a third version of the contemporary flower using red, white, blue, and clear; I believe I mentioned that I would make this panel in one of my earlier posts – I finally got around to it! Now I will get to the point and show all of you the process of making this panel.

This is the pattern that I used. If you look closely, you will see that each piece has a different letter written on it. Numbers will also work, but it is very important that each piece has a distinctive “name” - in this case, a letter – as this will make a difference in how the panel will look when it is done. Also, if you plan on using different colors for each individual piece, you do not want to mix them up, which ou would be prone to doing if the pieces are not “named.” It also helps you in that there are actually two copies of the same pattern that you use – one remains intact such as the one above, while the other you cut each piece out and use to trace the pattern pieces out on the glass.

These are a few of the pieces that I have traced on the glass. If you look at the blue pieces, I have traced two of them and two more are waiting to be traced. As I mentioned earlier, each piece needs to be ”named,” as this helps when placing the glass pieces on the intact pattern- this process helps when you solder the pattern together – more on this later.

Another important note – if you are using a textured glass, as I am with the red piece, I suggest drawing about three short lines below your letter so you know which side goes to the bottom. This isn’t absolutely necessary for the piece to fit together – at least, with this example – but if you want the texture of the glass to go in a specific direction you will want to pay attention to how you place it before you solder it together. Confused yet?

This is one of the clear pieces that I have cut from the sheet of glass. Throughout the process, but especially at this point, be careful! The glass is VERY SHARP!!

See? Told you!

Seriously, though, as you all know safety is no joke – you will likely cut  and burn yourself when making a glass panel. Do not rush during any part of this process – that is how you can really get hurt, and your end product will not look as nice. 

This is where your grinder will come in handy. This process takes all of the sharpest edges off of each piece of glass, and creates a rough surface that makes it easier for the copper foil to stick.

All right! All of the pieces are now cut, and I have run all of the edges along my grinder. The next step is to wrap each piece with copper foil – with black backing, because I will be using a black patina on the solder for the final step.

Okay – now all of the pieces are foiled, and the panel is ready to be soldered together and framed in zinc framing! Lead framing can also be used, but I prefer zinc as it is a less flexible material and will hold your piece together nicely without the frame being dented as easily.

Now the soldering and framing are both done! I have to admit, the panel looks really lovely just as it is – no patina added. There is no reason that the panel needs to be added – if you like the look of your piece without the patina, by all means leave it as is.

DONE!! The whole process from start to finish took me about three hours, but it was worth it!

I hope that you all enjoyed this post and that I did not confuse you too much. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment for me and I will do my best to clear any confusion up.

Contemporary Flower

First Piece Made in my Studio

Iris Panel

These are three pieces that I have in my home studio right now. I have the iris panel and the yellow-centered contemporary flower on display in my living room so I can enjoy them. My first panel with the red center is hanging in my studio as inspiration for me to continue with this craft.

Earlier today I made a third contemporary flower with the USA colors. Sometime soon I will post a picture of that piece. I also have that one on display in my living room.

I hope you all enjoy my work; this is just the beginning! Have a great night!

No, this class was completely different – no ovens, but very large sheets of glass, these strange-looking contraptions – which I would soon find out were grinders, an essential for any stained glass studio – as well as a station for each class member. These stations had a variety of tools that I had never seen before, such as a soldering iron and handheld glass cutter, not to mention spools of solder and strange-looking scissors with three blades. All of these tools that were present were necessary; each had a different purpose to complete the project we made in class.

The class itself was very interesting; it ran for four hours the first night, then all day the next day. During the first night we watched a video about how the different colors and textures of glass were made. We also went through each of our tools to learn about what they were used for, and how to properly use them. I couldn’t wait to get started!

Each student made the same pattern – I had thought that we were going to come up with our own pattern, but looking back I’m glad we were all doing the same one. We were all using the same colors as well – green, red, yellow, and clear. However, we were allowed to use whichever combination we wanted. Some of us used green and yellow only, while others used all four colors. The only thing that the instructor told us was not to use too much of the red – you see, red is one of the more expensive colors of glass. This is because of the gold that goes into the glass itself – I don’t know much more about it than that, but the price of glass partly depends on the metals that are used to color it. At any rate, all of the panels looked different from one another – there were a few shades of the yellow and the green, so this helped.

One thing we also talked about in class was safety measures – glass is sharp, as well as the soldering iron is hot! No, I did not burn myself, but yes, I did cut myself. I believe I was the only one to do so in class that day. No big deal though – it definitely did not stop me from completing my project!

I knew that I had a talent for this craft – I am no expert by any means, at least not yet - when the instructor told me that my first piece was better than his first piece; he has been doing this craft for over thirty years!! That was a boost to my confidence.

It did not take me long to want to set up my own studio. Luckily, my house has a back den area with linoleum flooring – carpet in a stained glass studio is a very bad idea, with all of the glass shards that go flying – so all I needed was the glass and equipment. My mom helped me pick out my first pieces of glass, and all the equipment I needed to get started. I even have my own grinder! 

The most difficult part of the process was finding a suitable work bench. I am known to be particular with a lot of things, but a good, solid work bench is a must with a stained glass studio. You do not want something that will rock around at the slightest bump, and height is a very important thing to consider, as it is not good to be hunched over for hours at a time. My mom and I went all over town looking for the perfect table, but no luck. We ended up building one entirely from scratch! We went to a hardware store, picked out a panel of aspen, had the workers cut four legs made from 4×4 pieces of pine, and we nailed and drilled the table together. Funny how things work out, because that is one of my favorite pieces of furniture that I own. It is so solid, and the unfinished wood adds so much character to my studio.

Also another challenge was finding a storage cabinet for all of my glass and other supplies. My studio used to be storage for my extra appliances, namely this beautiful white cabinet. I spent 6 hours one day rearranging the closet in that room so I could empty out my appliances and put them in that closet, so now I use the cabinet as storage for all of my supplies.

I also spent 9 hours another day repainting my whole studio. It is a light blue now, with white trim – before it was tan with dark brown trim. The new color scheme makes my studio much more inviting and I really enjoy spending time in there now.

Space is still limited, but I almost prefer it that way. My studio is a cozy room in the house where I can focus on creating beautiful works of art. I find that spending a day in my studio is very relaxing and my day is fulfilled. I cannot wait to get started on the three projects that I have lined up.

Well, that is it for my history for now. Thank you for reading!

I am planning on building up my inventory of items to sell; I will be working on three panels this weekend. One is a cactus pattern set against a mountain – this particular piece reminds me of the Guadalupe Mountain Range in New Mexico. I have made this panel set in clear midday; the one I am making this weekend will look like the beginnings of a sunset.

 Another is a single iris set against some clear glass – what I like about this pattern is that the iris can be whatever color; for example I have made this pattern with yellow, and this weekend the iris in the pattern will be blue. I will likely make one with purple at some point, and possibly white as well.

The third panel that I will be making this weekend will be what I call a contemporary flower. I can honestly say that I am unsure if this is the best description for it, so if you have any suggestions please feel free to send them – I welcome feedback! At any rate, this pattern is special for me because it is the first pattern that I learned the craft of stained glass with. I have made this panel twice before – once in the class that I took and the other as the first piece I made in my new studio. The first one has red, green, yellow and clear as its colors, and the other has purple, yellow, opalized white (one of my favorite colors!!) and clear. For the third time around, I am going with USA colors – red, white and blue – and clear of course.

These are just the first of many projects to come for my new business. I will post pictures of each of the finished products as well as post updates when I have new items that I will be offering.

I would now like to conclude my first blog post by sending a very special thank you out to my mom and dad. They are the ones who have encouraged me to take on starting a business – they truly believe that I have the drive and the talent to make Monarch Skies Stained Glass a real success. Thank you both for believing in not only my talents, but me as an individual.

That concludes my first blog post. Thank you for reading and wish me luck!