Every few years, I invite readers and colleagues to contribute guest columns in the series Technology and my Hobby/Passion. Over a hundred contributed in the last decade on their birding, charities, cooking, music, sports and every other passion, and how it keeps evolving with technology. Click here and scroll down to read them all.
This time it is Susanne Beck, who was born in Detroit, Michigan but has lived most of her life in Florida. She had a teaching career that spanned 42 years focused on social studies at the middle school level. Now retired, she has lots of time to work on stained glass from her garage workshop in Tampa, Florida.
I got my teaching degree at USF in 1968. While getting acquainted with the campus, I discovered a hidden gem in the basement of the University Student Center - the Craft Shop. I immediately signed up for ceramics, leather working and stained glass. Within a few weeks, I became totally consumed by the vibrant colors and the precision and skill required to create a stained glass window.
These days you can learn just about anything via YouTube - here's one on how to create a stained glass window.
I learned it the old fashioned way. Classes were scheduled for eight weeks, two hours each. The class size was limited to 8 students. We began with the basics: how to use a glass cutter to cut straight lines, circles, inside and outside curves. Grozer pliers and a glass grinder were used to smooth the outside edges of the glass so you fit the adhesive copper foil around each piece of glass. We then assembled our glass pieces on a board using flat sided nails. They held the pieces in place while we applied flux. Surely you know what flux is? It is that lovely smelling (NOT) paste you apply to metal prior to soldering with lead wire.
Our first projects were limited in size. We used only a small amount of glass. This was to help cut down our frustration. Trust me, cutting glass and soldering are not easy skills to master. Sharp objects and glass can be lethal. Soldering irons can reach temperatures of 800 degrees F. They generate fumes which can harm your lungs and your eyes.
I don't know if I was lucky or gifted, but within a few weeks I had fallen in love with this awesome art form. I constantly found myself dreaming of ideas for next projects. On a trip to Winter Park, a couple of hours away, I discovered the Morse Museum. It showcased Tiffany lamps, windows, boxes and even a church altar made entirely of stained glass. Charles Lewis Tiffany established one of the world’s premier luxury brands, Tiffany & Co. His son, Louis Comfort Tiffany earned his own reputation as the foremost American designer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, especially of brilliant stained-glass lamps and windows.
That trip got me even more interested and I did some research on the history of stained glass. Colored glass was used by Egyptians and Romans to make small colorful animal figures and other ornaments. It became a major art form starting in the 7th century when Christians started using them in their churches. Today, I see it everywhere!
As I aged, the student became the teacher. I started teaching the stained glass class at the USF Craft Shop. I began creating stepping stones embedded with glass designs.
A local school offered adult woodworking classes. There I learned to make frames for my glass window projects.
Vinnie asked me to talk about how technology has changed the world of stained glass. In my little world, I still use basic glass, the cutters, the soldering gun and the flux. Underlying each element, there is plenty of innovation. I would recommend you watch this video from Corning "A Day made of Glass" to see the tremendous progress. Or visit the plant in Germany where one of the best glass cutters in the world, the Silberschnitt BO 100.0 is made. Or the plant in Japan where Hakko makes some of the best soldering irons. Or talk to the chemists at 3M on how flux keeps improving.
If I were younger today and wanted a different career, I may want to work at a company like Judson Studios. They helped create a single window that measures nearly 100 feet by 40 feet at the Church of the Resurrection near Kansas City, Missouri. The video below describes their innovations and technology.
I am happy with my glass projects. Little did I realize when I walked into the Craft Shop at USF five decades ago, I would be introduced to something which would become a life long passion.
Comments