Kathy Sparks

Kathy Sparks Wisteria Glass: My husband and I bought an old house that had a transom over the doorway between the living room and kitchen. We thought stained glass would look nice there, but we couldn’t afford to buy one. The glass shop in our city offered lessons, so I decided to learn to make one myself. I chose to make a picture of a dogwood tree branch in bloom (see picture in gallery). For my second class, I made a hanging Tiffany style light (see picture in gallery). And I have just continued from there, building and perfecting my skills. The process for making a stained-glass panel: 1. Choose or make a pattern. 2. Decide which glass would look the best for each piece, paying attention to color, texture, and graining. 3. Place the glass on the pattern, turning it to get the desired effect. 4. Draw around each piece to transfer the pattern to the glass. 5. Cut out each piece using a glass cutter and one of two different types of pliers. 6. Grind all edges of each piece with a water-cooled grinder. 7. Apply copper foil around each piece. 8. Place all pieces on the pattern, making sure everything fits together, and secure them in place so they can’t move. 9. Apply acid flux on all joints and solder pieces together. Do the same on the other side. 10. Clean the glass. 11. Make a wood or metal frame for the glass and affix a chain to hang the panel. 12. Enjoy the fruits of your labor! I don’t do commission work, but I try to make panels that fit different sizes and styles of architecture. I especially like to make antique looking panels, but I also enjoy making panels depicting scenes from nature.