The windows of Notre Dame or Chartres Cathedral for instance, are a therapy for the soul.  Exquisite glass pieces are fashioned into patterned works of art that astound and bewitch.

 
                  Notre Dame

It is truly a magical work of art and in some cases take years to complete.  Just haul yourself around the churches and palaces of Europe to see coloured glass used on the grandest and most astonishing scale.  It is more than beautiful, and in these buildings the lead light is completed with exquisite stained glass paintings to give incredibly detailed pictures.

 
                 Notre Dame

When I think back to early art, it seemed that only the perfectly skilled could do it and it was in such high demand.  The artisan had to spend years learning the craft and literally climbed from the bottom, most likely sweeping up the shards of glass, until he was showcasing his own talent. You learned everything and during your apprenticeship you certainly helped produce the works of art your ‘master’ was famous for.   Eventually the time came when you were ready to produce you own ‘works of art’ but that would take a long, long time.

Isn’t it strange how the loveliest of all window treatment, lead light, is gradually disappearing from the scene? 

These days we can make simple a leadlight panel in an hour or two without any background knowledge.  The modern day tools and ease of acquiring the products required to produce this art is at everyone’s fingertips.  But there is much to be learnt in the art of making ‘stained glass’.  Painting with special glass paints enhances the leadlight so much so that it becomes as intricate and valuable as a canvas painting.

From the days I studied art at school I have adored ‘stained glass’.  In fact, the first art prize I ever won was a “Book Week” prize done in a ‘strained glass’ fashion.   During the many years of immersing myself in the art world, I have never contemplated making lead light.  Maybe it is because it looks like a very meticulous skill and I don’t see myself as a meticulous person!!! 

However, all that changed when we bought this house and I noticed there were large panels of clear glass above a number of the doorways.  

The artist in me could imagine glorious lead light windows inserted in them.  When we moved in and I obtained a quote for at least 4 panels but it seemed my plan was thwarted from the word go.  The cost to install professionally made lead light panels made it out of the question.

Then I came across a lead light course at the local Tafe and I decided this was the way I to go.  But could I do it, given I am not meticulous!!!! 

We were told we were going to make a panel and were given a drawing of a single flower with a few petals.  We laboriously copied the plan onto our own paper and then we drew around the layout with thick black texta, about the same thickness as the lead channels that hold the glass.  This drawing was going to be an exact template for all the glass and lead cutting for the panel.

Next we had to practice the technique of cutting glass.  It is quite nerve wracking if you have never cut glass before.  With your special scoring knife you score a shape onto the glass. Then you carefully snap the glass to hopefully give to you the perfectly shaped piece you imagined.  It is tricky and the terror of slicing off a finger or somehow spearing yourself with a shard is actually quite frightening.  However, you watch and practice and when you only manage to slice the tops of your fingers you feel strangely satisfied.   Bandaid wearing becomes part and parcel of lead light construction!

So having skilled up in the glass cutting technique, you painstakingly cut out each piece of glass from the template.  Then, with the special electric grinding machine, you smooth and shape all the glass edges.  Once all the glass is completed, you begin to piece it all together. 

On a wooden board in the left hand corner, you securely position two pieces of lead with special nails.   Then you begin to sandwich your cut glass pieces between the pieces of lead.  Each piece of glass must fit securely within the lead slots and you hammer in a nail into board to secure each section.  You need to solder the intersections where lead butts together which is a bit tricky!  Then a black tar substance is pushed into the gaps and then the whole thing is polished.

I was pleased, very pleased with the outcome.  It is certainly a very ‘meticulous’ procedure and I somehow managed to complete this lovely panel.



It was the wrong size and was not suitable for my doorways so I would have to create my own panels from home and naturally I imagined fabulously divine and incredibly eye catching.

To this day I do not know why I chose such an intricate design for the panels.  It was definitely not a beginner piece but I had high hopes for success at that point and I had grown up drooling over the involved stained glass masterpieces.  Surely I was up for something creative, something spectacular!!!!

Down in the garden shed I cut millions of bits of coloured glass.  I ground them into shape with the grinding machine and in the end I was unable to tell which piece of glass went where, but this didn't deter me.   

Weeks of 'painstakingly' wedging the minute pieces of glass together between the lead proved fiddly and difficult but I persevered.  I was happy with the outcome at this point but when I was three quarters of the way through the project an incident happened which stopped me in my tracks. 

No!  I did not lop off my thumb. 

Something happened to the glass in the panel.  No one has admitted to dropping the garden shears, but they shattered glass pieces way back in the left hand corner of the panel.  This was disappointing.  Well, more than disappointing!   This meant, to fix it, I would have to completely dismantle the whole thing.  

I am sorry to say that was it!  I was totally put off.

 

The millions (well maybe not millions) of pieces of glass still lay strapped out on the board to this day.  They are waiting for love and attention but I really haven't got the heart to undo it all.  

I did think I should start a new panel with something simple, like eight squares of coloured glass, which would probably look pretty good and probably take half a day to put together, but the disappointment of failure has cut very deep.

The panels above the doors still remain clear glass after all these years, but a little bit of me still hopes I can muster up a skerrick of enthusiasm to repair the damage or create 'something new’. 

Will it happen?  I hope it will one day!              

But don’t let me put you off though.  I really think it is a most wonderful hobby and anyone can easily learn to produce gorgeous works of art. 

Heed my advice though:  don’t jump to ‘advanced glass making’ before you are ready, and beware the 'garden shears'!