glass painting
band...@algonquinc.on.ca
good day!!!
Does it cost too much money to do glass painting??? We would like to know
if it's easy to learn this kind of craft. Is there any particular book
that you should recommend????????
-------------------==== Posted via Deja News ====-----------------------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Post to Usenet
Bert Weiss
The expenses required for glass painting are: a kiln capable of reaching
1250F. A used pottery or metal enameling kiln will work, however a top
element kiln designed for glass is preferable. I built my kilns for much
less than manufactured kilns cost. you will need a kiln shelf and some
kiln wash. Next you need glass enamels or glass stainers colors. These
usually come in powdered form so you need to mix them with a medium and
binder. This can be as simple as water and gum arabic, or as elaborate as
using European acrylic water based medium (which I personally prefer). To
mix the paint you need a large pallette knife (cake knife) or a braun hand
blender. To apply the paint you need paint brushes. Almost any brush will
work. I like bristle brushes, however sign painters brushes will give you
the longest stroke. To do traditional glass painting you need a badger
blender. These are very expensive, but they give the painter the ability
to shade smooth and blend the paint. I have most often encountered glass
paints on drinking glasses. To manufacture "Ronald Mcdonald" glasses the
glass enamels are silkscreened on to decal paper. The decals are applied
to the glass and it is fired to 1050F. You can silk screen on to flat
glass easily.
The book I recommend is "The Art Of Painting On Glass" by Albinus Elskus.
This book is available through most stained glass suppliers.
Before the late 19th century all stained glass windows were painted and
fired on every piece of glass. Opalescent glass allowed artists to paint
on fewer pieces. A major effect of paint on transparent hand blown glass
is that the paint on the surface stops your eye at the surface, so you are
not lookthg through the window, but at the surface. Do a local church
tour and look at the glass painting. I'm sure you will be impressed at
the skill and artistry the old timers had.
If you are interested go for it. I personally find glass painting
liberates me from having to use lead to hold a project together. and
allows me to work on thicker (harder to break) glass.
Bert Weiss
--
Bert Weiss Glass Studio
Painted Art Glass
Custom Productions
Architectural and Sculptural Cast Glass
Collaborative Art Glass
Lighting design
Jospeh Maklak
I have worked off and on as a hobbiest in stained glass for a number of
years and found that the hobby was always lacking something for me
personally. I realized that my windows would never be the same as what I
see in the older churches because those windows were part stained glass and
part paint. I made some local inquiries but could find nothing on the
topic of painted and fired windows. There were a couple of major shops who
performed this work but these shops were family run and the closest one to
me was about 70 miles away.
I have found that there is a very limited number of people interested in
this dying art. I myself am trying to learn it in order to assist a friend
who has a busy business renovating 100 year old church windows. I have
found a reprint of a book from the 1920's offered for sale by Cumbow
Studios(Painting and Firing Glass - $5.00). The web site is
http://www.greatnothern.net/~cumbow/ Cumbow studios also offers some
other used books on the subject. There is also a society of master glass
painters in Britain but I would have to perform a web search to find there
address. I went there once but there was not much info offerred over the
web. Being in North America I think it would make little sense to belong
to there org. There is an excellent book on painting glass called The Art
of Painting on Glass by Albinas Elskus. You might be able to find a used
copy through http://www.interloc.com , an excellent source for used and
antiquarian books.
What I can tell you from my limited knowledge is that there are only a few
color pigments and mostly black or browns(a few other colours I don't have
at my finger tips) that are durable and will last for 100's of years on
church windows. These pigments are fired on in the range of 1400 deg F. so
you will need access to a kiln to get a finished product. Also your glass
will shatter if it is too large of a piece or if you bring the temperature
up to quickly or down to quickly. If your local dealer in stained glass
will give you access to his/her wholesale catalogues you most likely find
some of these pigments.
Spectrum Glass has a web site and a newsletter which may be of help. It is
atleast a starting point. What I have taken to doing is surfing around the
web using site links to develop my limited knowledge thus far. Let me know
how your surfing goes and maybe we can get a list on websites together.
If you just want to play around and do some decorative painting on glass
block, vases etc. you can probably go to major hobby store in your area and
get glass paints that when thinned will give you a transperent look and are
low temp fired at about 325 deg F. It is my understanding that these
paints are not durable enough for church windows but will last along time
for the average craft project.
Starting in the new year I will be learning techniques along with my friend
and the artist who also works in his shop. After some study and as I
develop my technique
I will be recording my shop notes and pictures. If I can take the time get
a web site together I will publish my notes for everyone to view and use.
I would encourage you and anyone who may have suggestions/information to
e-mail me so we can help build the body of knowledge needed for other who
wish to follow.
Lets all keep in touch!
Joseph Maklak
Joe...@netcom.ca
band...@algonquinc.on.ca wrote in article <8811030...@dejanews.com>...
Bert Weiss
In article <01bd0290$79fe5860$LocalHost@default>, "Jospeh Maklak"
<joe...@netcom.ca> wrote:
>What I can tell you from my limited knowledge is that there are only a few
>color pigments and mostly black or browns(a few other colours I don't have
>at my finger tips) that are durable and will last for 100's of years on
>church windows. These pigments are fired on in the range of 1400 deg F. so
>you will need access to a kiln to get a finished product. Also your glass
>will shatter if it is too large of a piece or if you bring the temperature
>up to quickly or down to quickly. If your local dealer in stained glass
>will give you access to his/her wholesale catalogues you most likely find
>some of these pigments.
Glass Stainers colors are basically black, bistre brown, umber brown, red
for flesh, and grey green They mature at a temperature of 1250 F. You can
get them at L Reusche 1 970 346 8577. Reusche also carries specialty
brushes. There is also silver stain. Silver stains come in a range of
colors from lemon yellow to brownish amber, and are the only material that
actually stains glass. These are the materials that have been used for
glass painting for a few centuries. Glass Enamels come in a big range of
colors they mature at 1050 F, and are somewhat more fugitive than colors
fired to a hotter temperature. These are the colors used to make Ronald
McDonald glasses. I am currently experimenting with using onglaze colors
developed for ceramics that mature around 1500 F.
Get the "Elskus" book, a badger blender, some tracing brushes, a wide
applicator (oxhair, badger hair, or bristle) and you are ready to learn
traditional glass painting. I suggest you mix your paint with water and
gum arabic. a cake knife makes a great pallete knife. This kind of
painting is a little different than any other kind of painting because
light passes through the paint, so you see every nuance of the brush
stroke.
>If you just want to play around and do some decorative painting on glass
>block, vases etc. you can probably go to major hobby store in your area and
>get glass paints that when thinned will give you a transperent look and are
>low temp fired at about 325 deg F. It is my understanding that these
>paints are not durable enough for church windows but will last along time
>for the average craft project.
I think these colors are kind of rinky dink.
>
>Starting in the new year I will be learning techniques along with my friend
>and the artist who also works in his shop. After some study and as I
>develop my technique
>I will be recording my shop notes and pictures. If I can take the time get
>a web site together I will publish my notes for everyone to view and use.
>I would encourage you and anyone who may have suggestions/information to
>e-mail me so we can help build the body of knowledge needed for other who
>wish to follow.
>
>Lets all keep in touch!
>
>Joseph Maklak
>Joe...@netcom.ca
>
Go for it ! The world needs more glass painters. Let's keep up the dialogue.