STAINED GLASS
In honor of the upcoming release of "Red Snowflakes," I wanted to give my readers a little information on stained glass. In Red Snowflakes, the lead male character is a vampire. Dimitri, the vampire, creates stained glass snowflakes for each year spent waiting for his mate. That's just part of the story. You'll have to read the book to find out more about this highly-talented vampire! LOL
The term stained glass can refer to colored glass as a material or to works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensional structures and sculpture.
As a material stained glass is glass that has been colored by adding metallic salts during its manufacture. The colored glass is crafted into stained glass windows in which small pieces of glass are arranged to form patterns or pictures, traditionally held together by strips of lead and supported by a rigid frame. A soldering iron is used to melt the lead.
Stained glass, as an art and a craft, requires the artistic skill to conceive an appropriate and workable design, and the engineering skills to assemble the piece. A window must fit snugly into the space for which it is made, must resist wind and rain, and also, especially in the larger windows, must support its own weight. Many large windows have withstood the test of time and remained substantially intact since the Late Middle Ages. In Western Europe they constitute the major form of pictorial art to have survived.
Stained glass is still popular today, but often referred to as art glass. It is prevalent in luxury homes, commercial buildings, and places of worship. Artists and companies are contracted to create beautiful art glass ranging from domes, windows, backsplashes, etc. Most people are familiar with stained glass, but aren’t aware that you can do it at home. This is a craft that you can get into on your own with beautiful results, as long as you have the right tools.
I recently picked up an old, wooden, window frame on the side of the road. To most it looks like junk, but to me, I envision a masterpiece! I've ordered a beginners stained glass kit online and can't wait to get started. Once my project is complete, I'll upload the finished project. The book, Red Snowflakes, releases November 6, 2019! If the thought of a vampire who is an artist gets you just a little bit curious, this might be the romance book for you!
