The Beauty of Stained Glass

I always feel that the ultimate challenge to crafting is handling glass. Somehow the idea of scoring glass isn't exactly something pleasurable. Breaking the glass with bare hands or cutters is scary. And what about soldering copper strips? I won't even go there.

But I've always admired stained glass panels in churches so suppressing my phobias, I signed up for a workshop in Ennis. (I heard on radio today that we should try - at least once a week- to do something that we are afraid of.) Yes, that's good therapy.

Claire Carroll the expert guided me through the process of planning the design and then cutting the glass to match the design, just like pieceing a jigsaw together.

Pieces of glass cut according to the design

I also learnt a glossary of stained glass terms: shards, sharpie pen, pistol grip and pencil grip cutters, running arrow and grozing pliers and how to tack the flux.

Pistol grip cutter

Pencil grip cutter

Grozing pliers

Running Arrow pliers

Tacking the flux

Then I had to grind the rough edges. This is the part where I had to wear googles and look like the expert.

And we were given a good lunch as well.

It took me 3 cups of coffee, one scone, one plate of pasta, 21/2 hours of driving and 5 hours of glass cutting and soldering to make this wee fishy.