Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-05-16
WITH DEFT FINGERS
HOW THE BEAUTIFUL STAINED GLASS
WINDOWS ARE MADE.
Devices Employed For Securing Color f.
fects-Thousands OF Bits of Material In
/. Single Picture-The Flesh Tints Are
Painted by an Artist.

Painted by an Artist.
In making q stained glass window much,
more labor and artistic judgment are in
volyed than might be supposed. Though
the work is largely mechanical after the
artists drawing is supplied, yet it is Of such
nature that every workman employed in
the process must have u rare eye for color
and great accuracy of judgment. The first
step in making a picture window is the
water color drawing of the artist, setting
forth the design, colors and general effect
From this is made black and white draw.
ing of the same size rs the window is in.
tended to be. Any errors in drawing be.
come Immediately apparent when the wa.
ter color picture is enlarged, the necessary
corrections being made before anything
more is done.
After the large drawing is approved it Is
laid fiat upon two sheets OF brown paper
with ordinary carbon tracing paper laid
| between each sheet. A duplicate tracing
| is then made by running little wheel over
the outlines of the picture. One Of the
| tracings is cut up as II pattern for the glass
cutters. This is done by an ingenious tool
| called three legged scissors, which, when
cutting, removes strip of paper of the
same width as the lead which will separate
the fragments Of glass when the windo'r
is built up. The paper patterns are then
| pasted on sheet of glass in the same po-
sitions as the pieces of glass will occupy
when they are bound together by the lead
strips.
Now comes tho most critical part of the
| whole operation. With the water color
drawing as guide, the glass cutter has to
substitute for the paper patterns the pieces
of glass which will form the window. As he
selects the particular color which Is called
| for by the water color sketch for each pa
| per pattern he strips off the paper and sub
| stitutes the glass. The difficulty of doing
this may be appreciated when the great
number of tints used in stained glass win
dows is considered. In the fine mosaic
work which is seen to such perfection in
the Vatican at Rome no less than 26,000
different tints are used. OF course nothing
| like that number is employed in modern
| picture windows. but the various shades
are so numerous that an accurate eye is
necessary to discriminate between them
| and to use them with Judgment.
The cutter engaged in choosing and cut
| ting the glass has sometimes to pick over
a ton or more of glass before he arrives at
piece suitable for some particular tint.
BY doubling I. piece of glass or putting one
color behind another effects are often OBJ
tanned which it would be impossible to
produce with single piece of glass. The
| glass may be specifically stained or the
color may be incorporated while the molten
| glass is still in the cruciblc In America
| the homogeneous colorcd glass is generally
! used while in Europe the stained glass Is
almost entirely employed. In the homo
gencous glass metals and their different OK
ides are used for coloring. AS many as II
different ingredients are used to obtain
some delicate shades.
The most expensive tint Is ruby, to OBJ
tain which gold is employed. The excel
lcncc in color of the antique stained glass
windows has been found to be largely due
| to the imperfcctions in the glass which
was manufactured at that time. Modern
glass is too smooth and clear for stained
glass work, because 1t transmits the light
! too evenly and consequently does not give
IL good color effect. To remedy this glass
| for stained windows is now made purpose
| ly of rough and uneven texture. The col
ors blend together better and give more
! brilliant effect when the surface Of the
| glass is rough and full of minute blow
| holes.
| When the glass cutter has selected his
different tints and cut the pieces of glass
to correspond with the paper patterns, they
are placed in the position they will evcntu'
ally occupy. To accomplish this the hth-
erto undssccted tracing is laid on sheet
of glass; and the outlines of the picture arc
painted on the glass. The glass fragments
are then placed in position by means OF
/ these outlines. When this is done, the glass
IS taken into the soldering room, and the
| licccs arc bound together by means of
| double grooved strips of lead. This solder
| ing process is Il delicate one because the
lead lines themselves are relied upon 10
| give some CT the general effect No means
| have yet been discovered of staining glass
SO that satisfactory flesh tint will be OBJ
| tanned. All tho faces, hands and other
| flesh parts of the body arc cut in white
! opalescent glass and then painted. While
| the artist is painting the flesh parts the
| window is mounted in a rough frame, and
| all the light is cut off except that which
| Eliminates the piece of opalescent glass to
| be painted
Tho effect is extremely odd when one
| enters "a studio where several heads are be-
ing painted. All round the dark room may
be seen faces staring out in luminous re-
lief, against dark background. Here and
there u ghostly arm is outstretchcd or
mysterious hand suspended in midair'
When the eyes get used to the darkness,
the artists and many of the surrounding
objects become visible and much OF the
uncanny effect disappears.
There are some special products OF re-
cent invention which are of great service
in obtaining effects, which it is almost I'M
possible to produce by varying depths OF
color. Among these is the so called "dra-
perry glass" 1t is made by crumbling up
the glass when hot by a special tool until
it looks like piece of drapery. When al
lowed to cool, it remains in this condition
and presents luminous representation OF
drapery (when placed in a window, which
is surprisingly natural. Feathers are also
made by "a similar process for use In the
wings of angels and are equally lifclike
when illuminated from behind. New
York Tribune