Anatomy of an Art Glass Commission

I've been working on a commission which is why I've not been writing as much as I would normally hope to. However, I'm in need of a cup of tea and a sit down and thought it might be interesting to explain what an artglass commission looks like from start to finish.

The idea

Of course, commissions of any sort be it for a traditional painting, modern mixed media art installation, jewellery or clothing share a few steps. But I'll illustrate a portrait in glass that was commissioned by my favourite blogger and DH of himself for his Nanny (grandmother for those of you in foreign climes and 'upcountry' as they say here in Devon).

Assessing 'the idea'

Well the idea in this case was a portrait in glass. We are used to seeing portraits in stained glass all the time (at least in Britain - perhaps where you live as well. . .?) - in churches and grand secular buildings. The technique is to paint the portrait on the pieces of glass and fire them in a kiln to fix the image. At the time of the commission I had no kiln and so could not paint a portrait on to glass. As the subject matter was likely to be intricate as well I concluded that the piece was going to be done using the copper foil method (also referred to as the 'Tiffany' method after the man who invented it).

Pitfalls of Portraits - How to avoid a 'Face like a clown' : (

To avoid creating an image that leaves the subject looking like a clown, I needed to find an angle and image that would be recognisable but not full frontal. The first image above is of DH in the garden. He is quite a distinctive looking fella and there was enough detail for me to use this image as the basis for the portrait. (see image - right - of draft design)

Negotiation, Draft Design and Quotation

In this instance the negotiation was fairly easy. We set a budget for the materials, I drafted a design and determined the best size and that was it. However, negotiations can take a long time. If the client has a fairly good idea what they are after it is a matter for the artist to continue to ask questions about colours, subject matter, size, where the work will be displayed, etc. However, I also take time to explain what is best for artglass (light, preferably natural, from behind) display, what can and can't be achieved in glass (glass has rules and if you break them glass breaks), and the cost of it not just to construct, but the time involved and the expense of shipping (which can be as much as the materials and more!).

At this point, you might lose a commission or decide to decline it because the subject matter doesn't suit or the amount of money you need to charge is eyewateringly high.

However, if the challenge has been accepted designs can be done by hand or with software. I use a mixture of the two. Sometimes I use a hand drawn idea and transfer it to software. Why is software a great tool? Because you can alter it very easily and have multiple versions. Software costs money but hand drawn costs time.

So we have a draft design and it has been accepted. Now to create a quotation! There are several formulas out there used by artists. The one I use depends on the size, materials and the complexity. Expect to pay for materials upfront (non refundable downpayment is another term for it). The cost of materials in this panel (18 inches by 24 inches) was close to £100. However for a smaller panel of say 10 inches square it can be £50. It depends on what has to be bought in to complete the project. If the artist has a large stash your non-refundable downpayment might also include an element of the final constructed price.

I then take into consideration the number of pieces. Why? Each piece is handled at least 5 times - Trace pattern, Cut, Smoothed, Foiled and Soldered. If it all goes well that represents between 30 minutes - 1 hours work for each piece.

Finishing touches like patination, framing add to the time and costs. Add all that up - swoon - then look at it again and come up with a sensible compromise between £2000 to cover the time (LOL). I do refer to guild rates to help guide me. Sadly size matters! On top of the construction price is postage which can be substantial.

Construction of an Artglass Panel

Pattern: I touched on this already. The pattern shown above has lines on it. These lines are 'cut lines'. I make 2 or 3 copies of the pattern. One is cut up and numbered and the other two are used to help me lay it out.

Transfer pattern to glass: tracing the pattern pieces on the correct glass taking into consideration any patterning on the glass. It can take minutes to choose the right way to place the pattern pieces on the glass to maximise materials and get the right flow.

Cutting the glass shapes: I use oil fed cutting wheels and grozing pliers to cut and break out the pieces. (see pic of cut pieces - right - doesn't look very promising at this stage does it?)

Smoothing the glass shapes: this isn't always a necessary stage if the pieces fit nicely. However, it is very painful to smooth down thin copper foil onto razor sharp glass edges so the minimum effort is a quick rub on a whetstone. If I want to refine shapes then I use a grinder.

Foiling the glass shapes: copper foil in the most suitable widths are placed around the entire edge of the glass shapes and carefully smoothed down. Takes a fair old while. (see pic - I quite like this stage even though the copper foil is quite gaudy looking)

Soldering the pieces together: this is the final stage of construction. If it goes badly . . . you have a load of glass junk. If it goes well - whew! Flux and solder is used (comes in 50/50 60/40 lead and tin - lead free is also available but is not easily patinated so silver it is)

Finishing: cleaning, patination (dark browny black or copper) and framing (if required)

Sending Artglass in the Post

Glass breaks! Packing artglass requires strength and padding. You mustn't flex an artglass panel cause it will break. It might only be a little titchy suncatcher but it will come in a biggish box with lots of packing to keep it stable. A detailed foil panel will weight nearly as much as a simple lead panel. Glass is heavy. Postage is expensive. Did I mention that glass breaks? Of course, I have successfully sent letter sized panels to the US without breakages (!) So I don't want to deter you from working with glass artists who live outside your area, but it is less expensive for you if you find a local artist whose work you admire.

The Finished Article

The Gardener was duly completed and presented to Nanny after Christmas Lunch. She loved it and it hangs in her lounge. I am very pleased with my portrait of DH. Of course there are things I might do differently today but I think it turned out well.

Gosh, my tea's gone cold. Time for a cuppa.

Next time: maybe 'Sea glass jewellery', or 'Designing to Verse', or something completely different.