The portrait was a special gift to commemorate her Mom's birthday .. She was thrilled!
Here are the steps in creating this lovely stained glass portrait ..
Here is the computer rendition of Cappi and Demi, two little poodles.
This is the photograph from which I designed the pattern. Since the pup on the right (Demi) is smaller, I opted to place her a bit below her larger "sister", Cappi. Notice the color of their bows which carries over into the finished window.
Here is the finished window .. Now I'll start at the beginning to show the steps ..
Here is the "pattern sandwich" .. Manila folders taped side to side on the bottom, sheets of carbon paper in the middle, then the "cartoon" or computer-generated paper pattern on top. I drew the original pattern by carefully assessing the tones in the dogs' fur and deciding what lines were most important to retain, in order to express their little personalities. I use push pins to secure the three layers and prevent shifting. Then I trace all the markings, including the numbers, as shown.
I cut out the Manila pattern using stained glass pattern shears. These are double-bladed scissors which leave a thin line of paper between each piece. This gives room for the copper foil which will be added later. Here I've traced two of the patterns onto the glass. The remaining pieces are in recycled envelopes which are marked by color. I generally cut all of one color at a time.
After I hand cut the gray background pieces, I bring them to the grinder. This grinds down the edges of the glass pieces, making them safe to handle. Grinding also helps the copper foil to adhere better.
Here are the aforementioned stained glass pattern shears with a quick example of the space they leave with each cut.
At this point, all pieces have been cut. I'm continuing to trace the pattern pieces onto the glass as shown. Some of these, I will hand cut .. Others, I will cut with a ring saw.
Here's the surface of the ring saw which streams water onto the glass to keep the blade cool. To prevent the Sharpie markings from wearing off, I coat them with lip balm as shown. I use the ring saw for those pieces which cannot be cut by hand.
Here are a couple of examples of complicated pieces that I cut with a ring saw. Having the saw opens up more flexibility when I design from a photograph, as with this project. I can freely draw any shape without concern about cutting the glass by hand. The ring saw is capable of doing cuts that are simply not possible by hand cutting,
Back to hand cutting .. Here I'm using an "oil filled pistol grip glass cutter" to score a line along the Sharpie marks. Also shown are the blue "running pliers" which I use for straight and almost-strait cuts .. and the metal "groziers" which I use to nip off small pieces of glass, or inside curves.
I've cut the glass for both dogs. Now I'm back to the ring saw to cut the pieces for the background. Our friends selected this background glass from my inventory. It's Wissmach "Mystic Green" .. A fairly new glass and a brilliant one at that. Great choice! (It also comes in a brilliant blue).
Here I'm using the groziers to nip off the border.
Now all of the glass has been cut. Notice the "jig" or "fence" that's affixed at the bottom of the window. That will serve to hold the glass in place while I foil and solder it. I've also embedded a row of push pins into the work surface to hold the half-circle in place while I work.
Next, I apply copper foil to each of the 60+ pieces in the window. I'm using 7/32" copper foil. Some of it is "black backed", some "silver backed" and some plain copper. The inside of the copper foil will cast a soft light into the glass. Therefore I choose an interior color which complements the glass itself.
Here I'm using a "fid" to burnish the copper onto the glass. (This is Demi's snout!)
At this point, I use my electric Dremel tool to engrave the dogs' names .. Cappi and Demi .. Its very subtle, but it will be a permanent tribute to these beloved pets. I also sign my name, the month, and the year, in the lower right corner.
Now all of the pieces have been copper foiled.
Next I apply "flux" with a metal acid brush, to all of the copper foil lines. Then I apply small dots of solder randomly, and at intersections of the glass as shown. This is called "tack soldering".
Once the entire window has been "tack soldered", I slide out the "cartoon" to protect it from damage from the chemicals to follow.
Each stained glass window needs several cleanings throughout the process. Here I'm cleaning off the flux using a product called "Kwik-Clean Flux and Patina Remover".
Fully soldered on the front.
Now for the border. Since this is a half circle, I used a decorative flexible border made of brass. It clips directly onto the curves and gives a beautiful, and functional strength to the window.
The bottom of the window receives a frame of zinc as shown, which I solder to the decorative border for stability. After the frames are secure, I carefully turn the pattern over and solder the back.
After the piece is fully soldered, I made hooks for hanging. Since this piece will be going out of state and we would not be doing the installation, I decided to make oval hooks. This will give more flexibility and more attachment areas than a simple round hook would provide. I wrapped wire around three metal acid brushes, then twisted the wire using needle nose pliers. Then I flattened out the "legs" to fit along the decorative border.
Here's one of the two oval hooks with the "leg's soldered directly onto the decorative border.
Next, I apply black patina to the solder as shown. I work from a bottle cap of the liquid. The patina reacts instantly with the solder. After the solder sets for a while, I wash the entire window again.
Here's the window, still on the work surface, but fully soldered, framed and patina-ed. Almost done ..
Whenever I do animal portraits, I pay particular attention to the eyes. I always use a clear colored glass for the eyes. Here I'm painting the irises on Cappi, using permanent glass paint.
After I've added the black irises, I add a dot of bright white paint to give the eyes that all-important spark of life.
And here is the finished window atop my light box.
And here's how it looks without being back lit. Stained glass changes dramatically in different lighting.
And here are Cappi and Demi installed in their home! Its such a nice tribute to these beloved pets. I was thrilled to make this as a gift for my friends to give to her parents. Thank you again, Georgeann and Bob for commissioning me for this gift .. and Len and Terri, may you enjoy it for many years to come!
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