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 The
photo of this beveled and stained glass window was taken prior to
installation. I wanted a good photo, and knew I might not get one once
the pair (I made two of these) were installed. This was because the
doors holding these beveled glass panels were interior doors, set about
five feet farther in than the exterior doors at the entrance of this
home. In fact, the day I installed these panels, the outside doors had
not been hung and the front of this home being remodeled
about 30 minutes south of Denver was boarded over
with plywood.
I used 1/4 inch lead came for the background and border aspects of this
artwork, and 3/16 inch lead came for the beveled and colored glass
centerpiece. I used 1/4 inch U-zinc around the panels and 1/4
inch H-zinc for the six long vertical straight lines in the background
and border. By doing this, no steel reinforcement bars had to be
soldered to the panels for support; adequate support was already built
in.
Here is a good example of one limitation that comes from the use
of beveled glass pieces in a border. Because bevels come in
certain discrete sizes, it would be almost impossible to get the bevels
(plus the lead that's between the glass pieces plus the zinc around the
outer edge) to come out to just the size needed. Since these doors were
already made when the client first contacted me, the size of the
openings in the doors was already determined. The client wanted bevels
as part of the border, so the white glass you see surrounding the
beveled border pieces had to be added to bring the size up to that
needed, and there had to be more white glass at the top and bottom than
on the sides of these stained and beveled glass panels in order to be
the correct size in both width and height.
I always grind ready-made bevels so they fit more precisely.
This allows for the use of a fairly thin lead came to surround the
beveled glass, leaving as much bevel as possible showing.
This panel is also a good example of why beveled glass design SHOULD BE
CONSTRUCTED WITH LEAD
CAME! The geometry of the bevels looks far better complemented by the
uniformity of line width that can only be achieved with lead came.
Anyone who copper foils bevels is almost certainly a stained
glass artisan who never learned the use of lead came. Ask! You'll see.
Copper foil is
not the best choice for any geometric pattern, but I've always felt
that to be especially true with bevels!
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If you're considering a custom stained glass that includes bevels, read more about the use of bevels in my artworks.
Go directly
to another Beveled Glass Artwork
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