The Process
A brief explanation of the process of making a special commissioned panel from a selection of the client’s photos
Photos are provided by the client.
From the photos I make drawings to be used to paint the designs and to decide where to place lead pieces so it becomes part of the design
The client wanted 5 important photos and the theme of the 4 seasons in their commission for a wedding gift
Then I select glass in colours and textures to enhance the design
This is a cut line drawing. It shows how many pieces of glass will be in the panel, where the lead goes (the thick black lines) and what shape the glass has to be cut
I cut the selected glass and then shape it on the grinder to ensure a good fit of each individual piece.
The glass pieces are painted from the drawing
After I paint each piece of glass it is fired in the kiln to 650 degrees. Many pieces are painted and fired 2 or 3 times to achieve a good depth of shading and texture
Each cut and painted piece of glass is placed on the cut line drawing to ensure it fits the pattern
Once I am happy with both the painting and the fit of the pieces of glass, the panel is nailed up with the lead channel.
All the lead joints are cleaned with a wire brush before being rubbed with a tallow candle (to provide flux for the solder) and soldered to create a strong joint
The soldered joints are coloured black with patina and I polish and clean all the lead work with grate black to create a dark slightly shiny finish
The finished panel!
