Traditional Stained Glass

These beautiful leaded and copper foil stained glass windows, lamps and sculptural glasswork are the arts and crafts of cutting colored glass and joining the pieces into picturesque designs. These pieces of glass are held together by strips of lead and supported by a rigid frame. The pieces of glass are about 1/8-inch thick and bound together by strips (called “came”) of grooved lead, soldered at the joints. An alternative method of replacing the lead came with copper foil and solder, enabling creation of three-dimensional works, in addition to two-dimensional ones to which the lead came method is limited. Copper foil is often used for decorative glass boxes, stained glass lamps, and other stained glass projects with intricate curves. The copper foil is flexible when the solder bead is applied correctly.

Stained Glass is an art form that is was developed in the 9th Century in Central Europe. As a material stained glass is glass that has been colored by adding metallic salts during the manufacturing process. The colored glass is crafted into stained glass windows in which small pieces of glass are arranged to form patterns or pictures, held together (traditionally) by strips of lead and supported by a rigid frame. These pieces of “stained” glass were cut and assembled, using strips of lead, into larger compositions, which not only provided light but also became a major architectural design element.