Stained Glass Painting INfo

[Dani]

And speaking of making up techniques, I use food grade glycerin with tracing black Reusche to make my "India ink" to use with crowquill pen. I like it because it doesn't stink and never dries. I just cover it and then reconstitute with some water if it gets a little thick.... in a few weeks usually. This year's maglesses are an example of that technique. I still haven't tried the Ferros. For that matter, I haven't given the Johnson Mattheys a good whirl. Too comfy with the Reusches, I guess. Have used the same toothpaste for years, too!

[Kristina]

Thank you Bert & Dani, your counsel is so valuable.

Bert, can you give me a wholesale source for the Ferro Sunshine enamels? I have only been able to locate the Reusche through Ed Hoy's.

I really like Clove Oil & black paint for hand lettering. I am looking forward to getting very creative with oil & colors on vessels, as well as flat glass.

You are inspiring me!

I will take my cake spatula in for a try on mixing. Today was great using the techniques & tips you have given.

Bert, what did you mean by 'edges seamed' on your palette? I use a 14" piece of thick tempered glass with thin rubber pads underneath (no scooting or scratching my light table that way I figure).

[Bert Weiss]

Thank you Bert & Dani, your counsel is so valuable.

Bert, can you give me a wholesale source for the Ferro Sunshine enamels? I have only been able to locate the Reusche through Ed Hoy's.

I really like Clove Oil & black paint for hand lettering. I am looking forward to getting very creative with oil & colors on vessels, as well as flat glass.

You are inspiring me!

I will take my cake spatula in for a try on mixing. Today was great using the techniques & tips you have given.

Bert, what did you mean by 'edges seamed' on your palette? I use a 14" piece of thick tempered glass with thin rubber pads underneath (no scooting or scratching my light table that way I figure).

Seaming edges means grinding off the sharp edge by running a belt sander or diamond pad at a 45º angle to the edge. If your glass has been tempered, that has already been done as it is standard procedure before tempering. There is nothing wrong with using tempered glass, but it is not necessary for use as a palette.

Ferro sells directly from the manufacturer 1-800-245-4951 ask for Wanda Mc Dowell in customer service. They have a $100 minumum order. A sample set costs $200 with 19 colors and is a great deal. I heard here that they will be discontinuing the Sunshine series in favor of the Samba series which is totally lead free. They also make and sell water miscable mediums for painting. You might like these. They are not in the traditional painters tool box though. Bright colors aren't there either.

I love the look you can get by painting the colored enamels mixed with a water friendly medium and painted in an impressionist style. It is a wet on wet painting technique.

Reusche 970 346 8577 has a $75 minimum order and is the best source for traditional glass stainers colors like stencil black and bistre brown... They also sell brushes. The other sources for brushes that are good for glass painting is a sign painters supply or a faux painters supply.

[Kristina]

Thank you for the numbers. You make it so easy. I will contact them. I didn't realize Reusche had a direct number.

All Yall are doing me much good ('You All' as they say here in the South, is singular; All Yall is plural). You can now be culturally correct if you ever pass through Dixie Land.

It's good to know the terminology (seaming). I have used an 80 grit round sand paper disc on my drill for rounding larger DS glass. A glass shop told me that trick & I have been thankful for it.

What do you fire your painted pieces on in your kiln? I have an Oval Evenheat & bought the heatproof white board & have powdered it with Whiting, but at higher temps it puts grit on the back of my pieces.

[Bert Weiss]

Thank you for the numbers. You make it so easy. I will contact them. I didn't realize Reusche had a direct number.

All Yall are doing me much good ('You All' as they say here in the South, is singular; All Yall is plural). You can now be culturally correct if you ever pass through Dixie Land.

It's good to know the terminology (seaming). I have used an 80 grit round sand paper disc on my drill for rounding larger DS glass. A glass shop told me that trick & I have been thankful for it.

What do you fire your painted pieces on in your kiln? I have an Oval Evenheat & bought the heatproof white board & have powdered it with Whiting, but at higher temps it puts grit on the back of my pieces.

Whiting is good to 1250ºF. Above that kiln wash on a shelf is good. Rigidized fiber board is also good. See the thread about rigidizer breakthrough. Colloidal alumina on fiber board is good. I actually fire on the floor of my kilns, with a myriad of different surfaces depending on what I am doing.

[Kristina]

I was just reading in the Old Archives & have a few questions,naturally!

1. Do enamels or stains get brittle or unusable over time, if mixed with water & Gum Arabic & then stored in glass jars for future use?

It would seem I could avoid waste if I could pre-mix & take out what I need each time.


2. If my enamel line work has a gloss on the thicker lines after firing, was the heat to high?


3. With each firing, does the top mat sit on the previous one, or do they fuse & merge?


4. Will my stain traceline work come up through my subsequent flesh matting & shading coats? If not, what is your order of work to get the modeling & shading?

Thank you for any answers you care to point my way. I am soaking up your info gratefully!

Kristina

[Dani]

[quote="Kristina"]I was just reading in the Old Archives & have a few questions,naturally!

1. Do enamels or stains get brittle or unusable over time, if mixed with water & Gum Arabic & then stored in glass jars for future use?

I just leave mine on each palette.... "pile" the paint to the center and cover with the plastic lid of a coffee can then run a wet brush around the edge to seal. Eventually, it will dry of course.... but even so, just break up the dry mound with your palette knife and add a few drops of water. I just use a drinking straw to control water addition.


2. If my enamel line work has a gloss on the thicker lines after firing, was the heat to high?

Ordinarily it indicates underfiring if you have deviation between matte and gloss after firing .. but, that said, we've noticed on our last couple of pounds of black that it never seems to cure out completely in the firing. I suspect there's been a formula change, but haven't confirmed that. Nothing in procedure is different in the past thirty years unless you want to consider global warming.


3. With each firing, does the top mat sit on the previous one, or do they fuse & merge?
4. Will my stain traceline work come up through my subsequent flesh matting & shading coats? If not, what is your order of work to get the modeling & shading?

Your matte layer should be thin enough to allow the tracery to show through even before firing when held up to light. This will help you keep from getting too heavy-handed in your painting. Overpainting is a mortal sin in traditional glass painting. Fusing, on the other hand, allows you to treat the paint more like regular painting.

Happy painting!

[Kristina]

Thank you again, and now back to the Light Table

[Kristina]

Bert,

I want to thank you for the reference to Dick Millard. I called him today and had a wonderful conversation.

His classes are overloaded, in fact he said he has had to hold 2 intro classes this year due to the number of students. So next year it must be.

He gave me a few exercises to prepare for the classwork. I can tell from speaking to him that his classes must be worth their weight in gold. What a resource he is, & who knows for how long...

Thanks so much.

Kristina