What is Stained Glass?

Series Summary

As you walk into a Christian church, your eyes are immediately drawn to the elaborate patterns and colors of the windows. As the light floods through, images of the legendary and mythical events of Christian history are illuminated in colorful glass. This ancient art form is known as stained glass, and many of these ancient stained glass works have survived for centuries. Throughout its thousand year history, stained glass has been displayed in many different forms and varieties. However, the most common (as any connoisseur of religious traditions will tell you) is depicted on the walls and windows of Christian churches.

Though the religious connotations of the art still exist, a modern movement has also shaped the stained glass craft. For instance, many use stained glass in their own windows at home. Some have designed stained glass patterns that are abstract and creative. There are many ways to solder stained glass, and because of this, new forms of stained glass art are emerging everyday. Stained glass has been used for light fixtures and side lights. For those that lack the expertise of soldering and cutting glass, many have discovered the beauty of sun catchers. A smaller form of stained glass art, these sun catchers have become a favorite craft of children and adults.

If you have been considering pickup up a new hobby, why not learn how to make stained glass art? With its long and lasting history, it is clear to see that everybody enjoys stained glass artwork. With stained glass patterns, you can create almost anything you want. In this free video series, our expert, Amanda Claire, takes time to introduce you to the stained glass world. Learn the equipment you need to start your stained glass project. Amanda shows you different kinds of glass to use, and she also gives you tips for creating your own stained glass pattern. So, if you have been considering a stained glass project, watch this free video series today!

Video Transcript

"So what true stained glass is, a true stained glass piece, a stained glass window, a stained glass panel, even a stained glass lampshade, you can make stained glass boxes and other types of candle holders and things but true stained glass is really made by pieces of flat glass like this, that are cut into different shapes, whole pieces of glass cut into different shapes and then those shapes are joined together almost like a jigsaw puzzle using one of two methods. One way is using a, something that is called lead cane which is basically long kind of ropes, pieces of lead that you can get at a stained glass supply store, they have kind of a channel in them that the glass fits into. Another way to do that is the method that I am going to show you today which is using copper foil, tape and flux, a soldering iron is used nowadays to do stained glass windows, in the past they would have used, you know again, lead cane and hammering and probably some combination of heat as well. But you may have seen a lot of things out there, at art shows or hobby supply shows that look like stained glass but if you look at them really carefully you might find that really what it is, is maybe a, if it is made out of glass at all, you know not out of plastic, out of glass at all you might see that it just kind of looks like the design made on a piece of glass that is maybe, you know the paintings that they have done on the glass. And that is not really true stained glass, like I say, true stained glass are pieces of glass that are individually cut, puzzled together, bound together either with lead cane or a combination of foil tape and solder and heat, so that is really what we are going to be talking about today. "