Art Talk: My first stained glass piece

Remember when I did a post about the stained glass in the National Cathedral in DC?
Art Talk: Stained Glass Windows at the National Cathedral

At the end of the post I said,

I have a goal to make a stained glass piece. When I wrote that I just looked and found a stained glass class this summer and registered. I am so excited!

Here I am in the studio with my first piece. It was completed 6.22.22 six and a half weeks after I had the goal to make it.

Sara Jarvie
FLW #1, 2022
Mesa Arts Center, Arizona

This summer I went to Chihuly at Taliesin West.

I got inspiration from that visit and I decided to combine Chihuly and Frank Lloyd Wright and get a Frank Lloyd Wright pattern for my first glass piece.

I added used my favorite colors of blues and greens for the highlighted colors.

When I went to one of the stores to look at glass the owner suggested I start with a pattern that helps me learn how to cut straight lines, curves and circles. Great advice.

Here are my circles

After cutting the glass it is time to copper foil it. I really like how it looks with the copper color on the edges.

Now is the fun part- soldering. It is so cool to melt the metal. The solder will stick to all the places the copper foil is and not to the glass. Solder is part tin and part lead and easy to manipulate at high temperatures.

Some soldering videos

Here is the finished piece. It took about 12 hours. Which do you prefer the silver or black? The black is a patina that I put on yesterday.

It has been so fun to work in glass and do this Frank Lloyd Wright design, like two of my favorite artists. Tomorrow I am doing an artist highlight of Frank Lloyd Wright!