Big-hearted Super Dabbler Abby Branderhorst went to a Stained Glass workshop and wanted to share her experience. A class that allows you to create an everlasting flower from stained glass that you can kill only if you throw it against the wall.
Here’s her report from her latest Dabble experience…
Even though I have previously taken a glass art class with Dabble, I had never mustered the courage to take a stained glass class. I and my friend (who was taking her first Dabble class!) met the instructor, Norma, with three other women in her home-turned-art studio. Norma was informative and evidenced by the numerous pieces of glass art throughout her home, it was obvious that she is very talented!
After initially using her tools to practice cutting straight and wavy lines, we were given choices on what we wanted to make. I chose to create a cactus, whereas my very ambitious friend chose to create a tulip in a frame. Norma first helped me draw an outline of my product and then I began “scoring” the glass pieces to create my desired shapes.
After we scored the pieces, we used her special tools to break the glass. It’s amazing how relatively easy it breaks a piece of glass! Scoring the glass into circles for my cactus flowers were a little more difficult, but the instructor was there to assist me anytime I needed her extra attention. After smoothing out the sharp edges with her grinder and using the copper foil to wrap each piece of glass, we were ready to solder!
I was nervous about soldering my first time, but it was easier than I expected and before I knew it, I had created my finished product! The only tricky part of this process was making sure that I didn’t keep the soldering iron on the copper tape, as the wire, I used to solder my piece would stick to the copper foil. But Norma was easily able to assist me by having me hold the soldering iron to the wire again (thereby melting the tip of it) to release the wire from my piece. It was so helpful that the class was kept to just five students, as working with glass can be difficult and required me to slow down and focus on the techniques — which can be hard for a self-imposed Type A perfectionist!
After I finished soldering, I was ready to sit back and admire my work! I cannot believe how much I learned in a three-hour class.I would definitely recommend any novice with a curiosity in stained glass art to take this class. You’ll be pleasantly surprised with what you will create!
