Making Stained Glass

God I love stained glass. I know, I've been blathering on and on about autumn, and now you have to endure a few thoughts about stained glass. I'll get back to politics soon...honest.

I learned how to make stained glass windows about 25 years ago from a really neat woman who designed and built her own windows. She was probably the best in West Texas, and due to good luck, good karma, or perhaps providence, she not only taught me how to make these windows. She paid me to learn!

She had a 15-window job to complete and she was getting sicker and sicker, and was incapable of the work. She showed me how to assemble and solder and complete the windows she'd already cut the class for, and I spent the next week doing exactly that. I think I had an aptitude for glass, as my learning curve was pretty short.

The woman got progressively sicker and I kept on building windows she'd already signed contracts to do. She finally got cured from what ailed her, and I moved on, taking my knowledge with me. About a decade later I decided I wanted to get back into glass, so I invested in the basic tools you need to create windows. I've probably made about 70 windows since then.

Pictured at top right is my most recent window. It's about 5 & 1/2 feet tall and features a beveled fleur de lis, diamonds and stars on clear, but textured glass. I think I could only count on one hand the things I like doing more than making stained glass windows. And it's probably the only one I could actually get paid to do!