It takes a great deal of practice to perfect any art or craft, and Stained Glass is not any different. Although the procedures are relatively simple once they are understood, actually getting to perfection-or even near it- takes time and practice. To make a Stained Glass panel, one must first choose or create a design that is appropriate. Too many small pieces will cause difficulty, as will pieces that are too large. After the design has been chosen it is drawn on three layers of paper, separated by carbon paper, so that three copies are produced. One copy, usually on brown paper, is tacked to a board and becomes the template (or pattern) for the piece. One copy is used as a guide, and the third copy-usually of Oak Tag, is cut up into pattern pieces.
Once the glass has been chosen for each part of the image, the pattern pieces are placed on the glass, and are outlined with a special pen that marks glass. These pieces are then cut out of the glass by a variety of methods--by hand, or with the help of a circular saw or both,
In order for the glass pieces to stick together, a thin strip of copper foil, with glue on the back, is carefully placed all around the edge of every piece of glass to be used for the pattern. Assuming they all fit well on the template, lead came (strips of lead) are heated with a soldering iron . The molten lead is pulled along the copper foil seams and the glass pieces are held together. Polishing the glass is the last step in a very satisfying, if difficult craft.
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