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Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
What to Look For: Christine Perkins holds up pieces of glass to the light before she decides which ones to work with in a stained-glass class at the Kirk Community Center. Perkins has been making stained glass for the past 25 years.
WG center offers a class in the creation of stained glass
By Amy Jenkins
Even though the nearest shops that sell glass for making stained-glass projects are far from Willow Glen, in Mountain View and Santa Cruz, that doesn't stop students in a Kirk Community Center class from learning the art of stained-glass making.
The center offers a 10-week course on Fridays for those who have never made stained glass before, as well as experienced craftspersons who want to learn about modern tools and methods. Christine Perkins and Sandie Guenther are students in the class and have been making stained glass for about 25 years.
"I am doing this class to keep current," says Perkins, who lives in south San Jose. "I have a bigger project I am working on at home."
In this class, she is working on Christmas projects to give as gifts to her sister. One project is a nativity scene with a glass Mary and baby Jesus. Perkins says her sister will probably put it on a shelf with a light behind it. She is also working on a star that will be for the top of a Christmas tree.
Guenther, also from south San Jose, is working on a piece, named Bethlehem, for her daughter. On display in the classroom is another of Guenther's pieces, of Gandolf the Wizard from the J. R. R. Tolkien novel The Hobbit, which was on display at a stained-glass show in Las Vegas. She has also made 14 small--about 6 inches tall--California poppies that she gave as gifts to people she visited back East.
"It was like telling them to come to California," she says.
Guenther has also made four lamps out of stained glass and sold one piece at Willow Glen's Art Made to Match.
The first step to make a stained-glass piece is choosing the glass. There are many different colors and thicknesses of glass, Perkins says. She says she either buys materials from a shop called Franciscan in Mountain View, a shop in Santa Cruz or off the Internet. She said the Internet is invaluable because all materials needed for a product can conveniently be purchased, such as patterns, glass and tools.
The next steps are to outline a pattern on the glass, cut it, break it, sand it down, place foil or lead in between its pieces and then solder them together with a soldering iron.
"There are new tools now that weren't around when we started taking classes," Guenther says. "Now there is a tool to break the glass after it has been cut. We used to use regular pliers wrapped with masking tape."
Safety is the first lesson taught in the class. Harmful fumes are an issue while making stained glass because the solvent--called flux--that is used before soldering is toxic. The solder also contains tin and lead, so it is important to work in a well-ventilated area, says first-time student Anita McCarthy. Safety goggles must also be worn when cutting the glass because tiny pieces of glass can harm the eyes.
McCarthy got the pattern for her piece, named "Peaceful Lotus," out of a book of church windows in the Midwest. She went to undergraduate school in Iowa, and a lot of old churches there had windows made by German and other immigrants, she says.
"I thought the flower looked Eastern, like a lotus," she says. "I like things that cross and have different influences."
Cindy Bell, another first-time student, is making a large cypress tree out of stained glass. She is using art glass, which is more expensive than regular glass. It is also more brittle and more challenging, says teacher Phyllis Hunt, who has taught stained-glass making for 30 years.
"I have always liked cypresses," says Bell, who has children ages 12, 10 and 7. "I like going to Carmel and the beach there."
Bell plans to completely recycle leftover pieces of glass from this project to make pots, a table or butterflies for her garden.
The class requires homework so projects can be completed by the 10th week, but Hunt is flexible, Bell says. With three children, work and martial arts, Bell is not able to work on her project at home, so she will continue to work on it in the last class. During the last session, Hunt critiques the finished works, and the students hold a potluck.
The next 10-week course begins Jan. 18 and will run through March 22. The class meets Fridays 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the Kirk Community Center, 1601 Foxworthy Ave. To register, or for more information, call 408.723.1571.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
