I’d like to start making stained glass work again. I have been interested in attending conferences. Are there any out there? Where do I go looking for them? Also any resources that retailers can order from?
I started working with glass 26 years ago, but after an initial beginner class I didn’t stay on top of it. Recently, I have daughters who showed interest in it, so we took a class together, and started the fires burning again. I don’t have a tax ID# so I can not order wholesale. Whatever you can share with me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time and info. Cathy
Milly’s answer:
Great to hear you’re thinking of starting it up again, and your daughters too. If you’re like me you’ll get addicted! Here’s some places in the US that might help you – just cut and paste their website URL into your browser:
The Glass Art Society might be able to tell you about what’s happening in your area. Their website isn’t very helpful, but if you mail them they might have a few starting points for you:
There’s also StainedGlassVille – a great name for a forum, and it’s very active. I’m sure someone can help you with US information on there:
http://stainedglassville.com/stainedglassforum/index.php
Then there’s Cynthia Morgan’s site. She’s from Portland, but knows EVERYTHING about what’s going on in the glass world. Her knowledge is fantastic:
http://www.morganica.com/bloggery/
And the Warm Glass site is another awesome forum – it’s more for fusing and kilnforming, but they’re incredibly knowledgeable about the glass world:
http://www.warmglass.com/phpBB/
Hope this helps. Let me know how you get on.
.
Books To Recommend?
I have visited your site, it’s superb. I want to learn about etching, texturing, painting and all types of methods that can be done on glass for art and craft work.
Could you refer me to books or any literature that would provide me with all the techniques or methods to perform on glass work. Thanks, Steve
Milly’s answer:
I’ve had a think about books, and can thoroughly recommend two books for beginners.
The Complete Stained Glass Course by Lynette Wrigley and Marc Gerstein is very good on all the things that you mention. It also includes introductions into different types of glass, the tools you need to get started, projects and other useful information.
Contemporary Warm Glass by Brad Walker is very good if you want to fuse glass (heat it up in a kiln and melt it together). It contains information on everything to do with this method, from preparing the kiln to decorating the glass in different ways. It’s very exciting reading!
I hope this is helpful. Good luck, and don’t forget to come back here to upload your first piece on the website.
Stained Glass Repair Course
I’ve not had much success in locating a course on the repair of stained glass. My aspirations are for repair of domestic stained glass and leaded lights (non-listed buildings)
Great site!
Milly’s reply:
Thanks James! I can sympathise with your difficulty – I sent a mail to the Stained Glass Museum in Ely about stained glass repair courses, with no reply…
I know that Swansea Metropolitan University do a course – see http://xstudy.eu/bachelor-master-programme.0.html?&tx_assearchengine_pi7%5Bfilter%5D%5Bdegrees%5D%5Bbachelor%5D=1&tx_assearchengine_pi7%5Bprogram%5D=70220 – they might know of something in your area? And the wonderfully entitled ‘Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of Glass’ – http://www.worshipfulglaziers.com – might be of some help. Sorry I can’t come up with something more definite, but good luck in your search.