GLOSSARY OF
TERMS |
| american
opalescent |
A
rolled glass made of mixed of colors on a translucent
white base, first invented by Louis Comfort Tiffany
in the 1870s. |
| antique glass |
Handmade
blown glass made using the medieval method, featuring
many textures, striations and bubbles.
The word "antique" refers to the process
rather than the age of the glass. This glass is made today chiefly in France
and Germany. |
| came |
The
H-channel form that holds individual pieces of glass
together, usually made of lead but also of zinc, brass
or copper. The
soft, malleable quality of lead came allows it to follow
complex glass shapes.
It is usually milled in six-foot lengths of varying
widths. |
| cartoon |
A
full-size drawing on paper of a stained glass window. The cartoon may be color or black-and-white.
It contains all the patterning for the lead and
information for glass painting. Cartoons are often hand-drawn buy may also
be achieved through mechanical or photographic means. Commercial studios may reuse cartoons dozens
of times simply by resizing the window or border shape. |
| cathedral glass |
An
inexpensive, commercial machine-rolled colored glass
available in various textures but with very limited
colors. |
| dalle de verre |
A
technique using inch-thick colored slab or cast glass,
shaped into pieces and faceted on the surface, and then
set into concrete or epoxy resin. Although it was used extensively in the 1950s
and '60s, it's popularity has waned since that time. |
| epoxy resin |
A
synthetic, colorless adhesive used either to hold colored
glass onto a clear glass base, known as applique, or
for setting glass in dalle de verre. |
| faceted glass |
See
dalle de verre. |
| firing |
The
process of heating painted or enameled pieces so that
the paint, stain or enamel fuses permanently to the
surface of the glass. Most enamels are fired at 100 to 1250 degrees
Fahrenheit (600 to 680 degrees Celsius). |
| flashed glass |
Two-layered
glass in which a top layer of a darker color is applied
to a bottom layer of usually clear or light-colored
glass. |
| full size |
The
measurement of a window opening to the farthest point
occupied by the glass. |
| glass |
A
super-cooled liquid with no crystalline structure and
varying composition, primarily silica sand with soda
or potash and lime, which is added to facilitate a lower
melting temperature.
The color in glass is created with metallic oxides
that are dissolved into the molten glass. |
| glass paint |
A
glass treatment composed of brown or black iron oxide
and finely ground glass, used to give added detail,
linework and shading to glass. It is permanently fused to the glass through
kiln-firing at a temperature between 1200 and 1250 degrees
Fahrenheit (650-680 degrees Celsius). |
| grisaille |
From
the French grisailler, "to paint grey," decorative
leaded windows of clear, white or pale-tinted glass
that may be unpainted or painted with a repetitive foliage
motif or ornamental geometric design. |
| halation |
Phenomenon
whereby light-colored glass surrounded by darkness prduces
a blurred effect in which the light seems to spread
beyond the boundaries of the glass. |
| handblown glass |
Glass
made by a person or team using a blow pipe and shaping
tools. See antique glass. |
| lamented glass |
Glass
of two or more layers bonded together with a resin. It is most often used as a safety glass since it is fairly resistant
to breakage and shattering. |
| lead |
See
came. |
| matte painting |
Tonal
shading on glass that is usually fired on after the
trace painting has been applied.
It further controls the light by creating a modeled,
three-dimensional effect. |
| mullions |
Vertical
bars that divide a window into sections. |
| opalescent |
See
american opalescent. |
| panel |
A
single element in a stained glass window that is not
usually larger than 40 inches by 40 inches.
The shape of the panel depends on the window
design and whether or not it is a tracery panel. Larger panels require support bars. |
| plan of iconography |
A
comprehensive plan for the subject matter of an entire
fenestration. |
| plating |
The
sandwiching of two individual pieces of glass within
one lead came. Occasionally, a separate piece of glass is
soldered onto the back with it's own lead border - usually
as an onsite repair. |
| rolled glass |
Glass
that is manufactured by passing it through two parallel
rollers. The rollers often create regular textures
on the top surface.
Cathedral and American opalescent glass is made
this way, as is clear textured "industrial"
glass. |
| rose window |
A
large circular window divided by tracery that radiates
in petal-like or geometric shapes. |
| sandblasting |
A
glass treatment in which sand is propelled onto the
surface of a piece of glass by compressed air, abrading
the surface of the glass. Light sandblasting on clear glass, or etching,
produces a frosted appearance.
Sandblasting can also be used to cut very deeply
into the glass to create a sculptural quality known
as carving. Sandblasting is also used to remove the surface of flashed glass. |
| seedy glass |
A
type of antique glass with randomly scattered bubbles
of varying sizes. A commercial version of this glass is made
in rolled glass. |
| semi-antique
glass |
Glass
manufactured through a "drawn" process that
leaves striations. It seems reminiscent of antique glass, although
it is not handblown and does not possess antique glass'
irregular coloration and variations in thickness.
Also call new antique, semi-antique comes in
a very limited range of colors and is relatively inexpensive. |
| slab glass |
Inch-thick
cast glass used for making dalle de verre type windows. |
| soldering |
The
process by which the leads of a stained glass panel
are bonded together. Wire solder is melted over all the joints
of lead came on both sides of the panel. |
| streaky glass |
A
type of antique glass in which diffeernt colors or varying
tones of one color are mixed while still molten, resulting
in a sheet of glass with ribbons of color throughout. |
| support bar |
A
flat steel bar that is soldered to a glass panel, or
a round iron bar that is attached to a leaded panel
with copper ties. A
support bar provides additional strength to a stained
glass window and prevents it from bowing. |
| tee bar |
T-shaped
steel bar that is secured to a window frame on each
side for support and onto which the stained glass panel
is placed. |
| tempered glass |
A
type of safety glass made by heating the glass then
rapidly cooling it, which results in a tough glass that
breaks onto small pieces when shattered. |
| transom |
Window
opening above a door or a larger window. |
| zinc came |
A
type of very rigid came sometimes used as additional
support in leaded windows or for geometric door panels. |
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