Chip Smith, Peak to Peak. This is the second installment of articles on developing, executing, and finishing a stained glass project.
Kay O’Neil is a master artist in the medium of stained glass. In her workspace on the second floor of the Caribou Village, you will find artwork, patterns, and various windows in progress.
If you have an image, either in print, or in your imagination, Kay can lead you through the design process.
Think of a stained glass window as a puzzle. The image is cut into pieces and comes unassembled in the box. Then you spend hours fitting piece after piece together, and then you have the complete image. A stained glass window is basically a puzzle made out of colored glass.
In a stained glass project, there are many avenues in turning the image into a design or cartoon. The image can be found on the net, photocopied from a book, or in Kay’s case, she can draw you whatever image you might have in mind. Kay studied with an art instructor named Win Bruhl who guided her into an understanding of design-spatial relationship. Kay uses books for ideas looking at placement of natural images. The internet, of course, is a huge resource.
Kay loves photography. A photograph gives one a representation of a real object. “Photography is all about composition!” She feels that a Colorado landscape is a “perfect composition in nature.”
A photo allows the designer to isolate on features, for example, petals on a flower. From a photo or an image, you can trace using a light box and tracing paper. Kay feels that she is an illustrator and loves to put her interpretation on paper.
I have two 5 feet by 2 feet quadrilateral windows in my living room. They are excellent for light, but I have found them to simply be a window that displays sky on the right and leaves of a pine tree on the left. They both sit atop 7 feet by 7 feet rectangle windows. The windows frame the fireplace.
My idea to start this project came from the fact that I love moose. They stroll through my property quite often, and the pesky bears, who from time to time are seen in my side yard. These two animals will be featured in the windows. Kay has numerous aspen designs, and of course, I wanted some water, mountains, and sky incorporated. Now this is the part where Kay is essential. As an artist, she can use images, or simply draw what the customer orders.
I started by taking measurements of each window. Using a large white piece of paper, I started a template. I wanted a one inch border done in red glass, as well as an inner border of 1 and a 1/2-inch clear beveled glass. The bevels will sparkle when the light changes during the day. This template in hand, I met with Kay. I started with an image that I found online and then we discussed breaking it down.
These are large windows. With that in mind, you must consider the weight and plan for reinforcement.
To help with this problem, using the copper foil method instead of lead came, we decided to make these into four sections. I will discuss the difference in foil vs lead in a future article.
Kay is located on the second floor of the Caribou Village in Nederland. The design for the window project will be available for viewing at the shop. The third article (January) will feature the basics of stain glass tools, cutting glass, and placement on the template or cartoon.
Kay offers beginning classes in case the winter curtails your activities. Her shop is warm, and the music is going. The classes are $20 per hour plus materials ($10 - $40). The cost includes the use of her tools. She has numerous designs that she will help with.
Check out her website at onellrockymountanart.com.
(Originally published in the December 10, 2020, edition of The Mountain-Ear.)
