Shona & Stained Glass

Shona, my daughter, has decided to do a Stained Glass piece for her A-Level Applied Art.


Her big plans are eventually to do a big 3D Violin, but having never had even the most basic lesson, we thought a session in the shed might be in order.


So tonight we did just that. I have to say, it does make me ever so slightly envious how Shona can pick things up so easily, and always make something nice, I, on the other hand, often turn out a 'dog's dinner' for the first couple of attempts!


So here we are, a step-by-step photo blog into Shona's first attempts at stained glass.


First of all she took a rectangle of glass and just simply cut it into 4 pieces.



Then, using an inland grinder, she ground (grinded?) the edges to make them less sharp. At this point you are flicked with tiny chippings of glass which embed themselves in your clothing and hair.



Next it is time to add a sticky copper foil around all the edges of the glass, this gives the solder something to stick to.



When all the pieces are complete, you lay them back together in your chosen pattern and 'tack' them together with little bits of masking tape.



Next is the fun bit - melting the solder and filling in the gaps between the copper, smoothing it over to make it look nice.



Then you turn it over, do the other side, and finally the edges, taking care not to let the solder drip onto your hands (coz that really hurts !!!)




Then she added a cute wire curl, because she could :)


Tada ! The finished piece. Ready to stick into her work book as a sample.



Now....... to order a huge pile of brown glass for this Violin idea !!!