View Full Version : Stained glass for fun and profit?
After resigning from the umpteenth work-at-home job that "just didn't work out," I have concluded that my ability to fit into 9-5 workplaces AND online jobs is just about nil. I am seriously considering learning how to do stained glass pieces, with a view to selling them and even, one day, making a living at doing so.
Is this possible? Can stained glass be done out of an area the size of a dining room? Are the basic tools and supplies expensive? Is it terribly difficult to learn? Should I take a class or try to learn from a DVD? Any advice and suggestions on this would be GREATLY appreciated. My DH and I are moving to Israel soon and my Hebrew will take years of study to be refined enough to do "real jobs," which I don't do too well with here anyway. I'm thinking that learning a trade/craft would be more sensible, since the art is what sells, even if one's grammar is poor. Thanks, everyone!
This is a very expensive hobby. It seems odd to me that you are choosing a "craft" that you've not done before. Usually, people start by being attracted to the art medium, playing with t and making a variety of things, and then grow beyond that to possibly selling pieces. So far, from your message, we know that your qualifications for making art is that you don't like 9 to 5.
My SIL make stained glass for a while as a hobby. She made a kaleidoscope and it was better than the one I bought at a craft fair. This has nothing to do with anything, really, except that I remember marveling how my SIL's workmanship was clearly better than that of the pro.
I love stained glass - it is magical. I had a work friend in the early 70's that quit his engineering job to join his wife in their business adventure. His wife had a trendy shop selling jeans, etc and he took a local stained glass class. He made a few pieces while he worked and then go really serious about it a few months later.
These days he is one of the top stained glass and beveled glass custom producers in the Houston area. If you are following your passion then I can't see a down side but for the most part making a living in a art/craft is usually more about marketing and business planning than about craft.
Take a class and then decide what you think - my DW didn't like the cuts, etc. but she also learned to make leaded glass and she was able to make all of our leaded windows in our house.
You just never know what or when you will find your passion - good luck!
Peace
We were just at an art fair and some of the art glass was fantastic. I really liked the windows/panels that had depression glass bowls, plates, etc. inset into the design to make it a little more out of the ordinary. Makes flat plain stained glass kind of boring.
Hubby took a class and made a round custom window for our front door. Then he never did it again.
I suspect there is not a great market out there unless you do a lot of work to develop and sell the product. Trade/art shows are expensive and often juried. They are where the high dollar pieces are sold.
well....it's cheaper to get into than hot glass which is what we do. Not sure what the art market is in Israel is doing but it is tougher and tougher to make a living at the art shows and wholesale to stores in the USA. My husband has been a glassblower for 26 years or so. There are a lot of hobby stained glass people, most stained glass supply shops offer classes, take as many as you can and then be original. Patterns and kits won't make you a living. as far as studio space a garage size space is a good start. Big work station in the center to be working on several projects. Glass sheets can be stored in vertical wood bins.
rosarugosa
6-18-11, 8:53pm
There's a stained glass craftsperson at an local fair that I attend very year. I always buy some pieces from her, and she sells at a local group shop where I've gone to pick up something special as a gift. I think her work is high quality, and some of her motifs are pretty imaginative - I have a wine and cheese window hanging from her and an amaryllis, and they are both really beautiful.
I took a stained glass glass many years ago, and although I enjoyed it, I was very mediocre at it. But I do think it has enhanced my ability to appreciate good stuff when I see it.
I love "suncatchers" because they are so decorative, but don't really take up any space, if that makes any sense?
I've done some leaded glass pieces. I've also done art shows with other things, and it's a tough life. You would need a nice supply of glass (which get more and more expensive as fuel costs go up.), a good glass cutter, nippers, soldering iron, and more... It's not cheap to get started. It also takes time to learn how to cut glass well, especially in more intricate shapes without breaking pieces.
Have you looked on YouTube to see if there are any videos that might help you get a better feel for it?
You might also look online for less expensive supplies. There are some fun glass sellers you can look at to see the what variety is out there, but it is better to see the glass in person to get a much better feel for exactly what you are getting. There is much variation in terms of color, transparency, texture, flatness, thickness, etc.
That said, I just love, love all the colored glass and make mosaics from it, from both new sheets and scrap.
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Thanks, everyone, for the good suggestions! I had a dim thought in the back of my mind to first make small pieces that would feature religious and Israeli motifs to appeal to tourists, and then, as my skills progressed, to get into larger works for public buildings and temples. (We will be living in a tourist town on the Mediterranean that has a lot of gift shops and art galleries, so it shouldn't be too hard to get things in those shops on consignment.) My husband plans to open a dealership for motorcycle trikes, which means we'd have a fairly large space as a dealership but probably not too many customers at first. Since I'd be there to help out and would have some garage space to use, it seemed possible.
I've always been fascinated by stained glass and my stepfather made some excellent pieces, but I never took it up as an adult because I was living in apartments and didn't have the space. I am fairly crafty but have worked in clockmaking, acrylic painting, and papercraft before, but never stained glass. I think I will search for a class to take here before leaving for Israel, and see if I have the knack for it. I love the suggestion about incorporating other types of glass into the work...if I can find some vintage Israeli glass to use, that would make the works unique and interesting. Thanks again!
I love stained glass, especially abstracts. Just saw some gallery work that incorporated beveled lenses - from old telescopes or an opthalmologist's kit, maybe? - that was magnificent. I would guess that the materials are only as limited as your imagination, although some may be costlier than others. The caveat for me would be the market - all the pieces I loved were perhaps 3*2' at most, and none were under $2,000. Who actually buys this?
ETA: I have also seen some really fabulous metal sculpture using stuff like car and motorcycle parts. (Google "Car Part Art") You'd need some solder and welding equipment, but might be a closer fit with your business??
well....it's cheaper to get into than hot glass which is what we do. Not sure what the art market is in Israel is doing but it is tougher and tougher to make a living at the art shows and wholesale to stores in the USA. My husband has been a glassblower for 26 years or so. There are a lot of hobby stained glass people, most stained glass supply shops offer classes, take as many as you can and then be original. Patterns and kits won't make you a living. as far as studio space a garage size space is a good start. Big work station in the center to be working on several projects. Glass sheets can be stored in vertical wood bins.
DH got me a week glass blowing class for me for Christmas last year www.tacomaglassblowing.com They also have evening "classes" there too One time I took two of my friends for an evening of wine tasting, chocolates and they would help you make your choice of a bowl, a float or a paperweight
I just loved this But it is scary expensive and I would have to choose that or my horses if I wanted to pursue it more than just now and then
But it is scary expensive and I would have to choose that or my horses if I wanted to pursue it more than just now and then
....and that is exactly why I don't have horses anymore. Everything goes into keeping our business going.
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