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My interest in stained glass started when I was 15 years old. My stepmother was working in a fabulous stained glass studio owned by a very dedicated artist named Milcho Silianoff. When I visited his wonderful studio, and saw the soaring church windows on the large easel, the many colorful designs in progress, and smelled that intoxicating smell of linseed oil, I thought there could be no better profession on earth than this; designing with colors of light. I was spellbound and this memory stayed with me until I went to art school at Carnegie Mellon University, and took the hot glass courses offered, among others. Later on, when I transferred to Rhode Island School of Design, I took a stained glass course offered by a German grad student, which emphasized using ones imagination inspired by the material at hand and building out from there.
After majoring in glass at RISD, and getting my BFA degree, I went off to see the big wide world, and moved to Philly. I worked in a local stained glass studio, picking up some classic technique, and being resident designer. After two years, I moved back to my hometown of Pittsburgh, where I worked in another studio for almost a year, again being resident designer and learning more traditional technique of stained glass fabrication. I also taught myself the art of kiln fired painting on glass, incorporating the painted glass in my work. In 1987, I decided I'd start my own studio, and I renovated a small storefront which had been gutted in a fire in exchange for 2 years of cheap rent. I stayed there for 5 years, then eventually bought my own building which also required extensive renovation.
I've had a working stained glass studio for twenty years, with the work ranging from both creating commissions from scratch and doing repair and restoration work on antique stained glass windows. Over the last few years, I've been buying old stained glass windows to restore, and selling them here on ebay.
Selling on ebay has allowed me to devote the time I need to do my studio work as well as to attend to my family's needs. I love being self employed and I love sharing what I appreciate about old stained glass windows. I think the golden law applies here on ebay - treat others the way you would want to be treated. If I am going to ask someone to buy something from me, and shell out a lot of money, I want to be able to give them the most detailed information about what they're buying that I can. I think its only fair to the buyer. Asking people to trust you, sight unseen, is a tall order! Many of my customers have become long term pen pals, and I've really enjoyed chatting with folks all over the United States.
Hopefully, some of my (almost thirty) years of involvement working with stained glass shines through in my descriptions. I have come to a great appreciation and respect for these old windows and the craftspeople who wrought them so carefully. Perhaps you will share this feeling as well.
If you want to learn more about my business and see other windows I have available for sale, please check out my website, www.astarteglass.com
Opalescent glass - Glass that has white glass mixed in with the color. In the early types (1880's) the white is very translucent. Later types became more and more opaque and pronounced. Also known as slag glass. Can come in many textures.
Cathedral Glass - Glass that is simply colors with no white mixed into the glass. Early cathedral glass usually had a slight texture, and it comes in many textures today.
Antique Glass - A type of glass that is mouth blown and hand made, usually with lovely striations or chill marks and other characteristics such as bubbles. Usually very expensive. Used in the oldest cathedrals in Europe.
Flashed Glass - A type of antique glass that has a thin layer of color over a base of clear glass or another color. This thin layer can subsequently be sandblasted away, using a resist in a pattern to acheive a picture or a decorative pattern in two colors. This is always hand made mouth blown glass.
Gluechip Glass - Clear glass that has had animal hide glue applied to one side and let to dry. When drying, the glue chips off patterns from the surface of the glass, creating a similar pattern as what naturally occurs when frost forms on a window pane.
Leaded Window - A window constructed of H shaped lead channels, which are soldered at the joints, then grouted for waterproofing.
Copperfoiled Window - A window or other suncatcher, lamp, etc. made by wrapping each individual piece of glass with copper tape then soldering along every seam to create a web of solder around the glass pieces. Copperfoiling was used in old windows by John La Farge and Louis Comfort Tiffany for the more detailed areas within their leaded designs. Copperfoiling is used almost exclusively today in mass produced reproduction windows that flood ebay and other antique markets and venues.
Beveled Window - Each piece of glass has an angled edge which has been highly polished, to refract light. The beveled glass is usually thicker than other window glass.
Jewels - Dimensional pieces of glass with cut or pressed facets, or some can be simply smooth cast jewels. Some are pressed into molds in simple shapes, or depicting more complex pictures. The hot glass is cast into a mold, and takes the imprint of that mold. These decorative pieces are incorporated into windows, lamps, etc.
High Fire Enamels -Glass paints, which are composed of ground glass mixed with various minerals (for color) to acheive an enamel which becomes a permanent part of the surface of the glass, when fired on at a high temperature in a kiln. (usually at about 1250 - 1350 F) The glass powder is mixed with a binding agent, such as gum arabic, to the desired consistency.
Silver Stain - A compound used to acheive various shades of gold color on the glass surface. It is painted on, fired in at about 1100 F, then when the glass is cool, the residual powder is removed, leaving a beautiful gold, transparent color on the glass. Used for many details within painting in old cathedral windows.
Grout - A leaded window is grouted or cemented or waterproofed (all synonymous terms) after it has been constructed and soldered. The grout is wiped between the glass and the leads, and then the excess is cleaned off. This gives rigidity and waterproofing to the window.
Patina - The color of leading, solder or other surfaces. Older leading has a darker cast to it than new leading. Over time the leading becomes darker. The grouting also makes the leading slightly darker, when it is performed correctly. The patina of old leading can vary greatly depending on what environmental factors it was exposed to.
Pink Glass - Sometimes a piece of glass which started out clear, can turn slightly pink from being exposed to sunlight over a long period of many years. This is because the manganese within the glass becomes more pronounced from the sun exposure. You can also observe this effect in other colors of glass, where a piece of amber will become a pinkish brown, for example.
Bowing - A lot of old windows become bowed or warped over time. This can be due to a number of causes. The most common reason for bowing is due to the wood frame around the window becoming wet after paint loss, and expanding, thus forcing the window to bow out of plane. Also, a typical problem with the sagging and/or warping of larger windows, is from insufficient reinforcement.
Reinforcement bars - Steel, zinc, or iron bars which run across a window panel to reinforce the window from bowing and sagging. Soldered directly to the leading or tied on with soldered wires which are twisted around the rebar and soldered to the leading. They are usually notched into the sides of the window's frame.
For a more detailed discussion on dating and restoring old stained glass, please use this link- http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/tps/briefs/brief33.htm
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