Chemicals are then added to produce the colors of stained glass. In order to work with glass, it is important to have an intimate knowledge of the colors, textures and translucency of the glasses available from the manufacturers. Glass is the magic of a stained glass window. It is the element that provides privacy when necessary and the beauty of color. The subtle beauty of leaded glass, clear, beveled or textured, provides a tasteful understatement for those who prefer the simplicity of clear glass.
Mouth blown or rolled are the primary methods of manufacture.
There are many ways of adding specialty surface treatments to the glass for decoration. The building process of a stained glass window can be reduced to 10 easy steps, but takes months to perfect the skills and years to master the craft. You will find some differences between studios' processes, but the basic techniques have been used for hundreds of years. Construction methods for stained glass windows use copper foil, slab glass or lead. The copper foil process is primarily for three dimensional work and slab glass for larger commissions viewed from a distance.