AdammsGallery

Custom Stained Glass Roundel Window

Most of my customers call roundels "bottle bottoms". Indeed they look like the bottle of a bottle. Actually the process is similar. At least it use to be when bottles were mouth blown. Today roundels are made one at a time in the same manner they were made in the middle ages. A gather of glass is taken by the glass blower and a slight breath of air is blown into the pipe. The resultant bubble is then transferred to a punty rod.  Once on the rod the glass blower returns it to the furnace(glory hole) to keep it hot. Then the glass blower opens  the bubble with a pair of wide prong pliers. Then the glass blower spins the bubble, and the centifugal force does the rest. The bubble is changed into a disk shape. Finally the roundel is broken off the punty rod, and cooled in a lair.

                

      There are many designs that incorporate rondels, and roundels come in many sizes, and colors. Historically roundels were clear and used in homes as decorative windows to allow light in. They were also used in secular buildings for design. Some roundels have texture(ripples), some are solid colors, and some have a variet of colors in them. The designs can be roundels placed side by side vertically and horizontally, or they can have separation between them with a variety of designs. There is always a background glass. Again this glass can be clear, obscure,or colored.

                   

  

  We just finished this wonderful design for our clients laundry room. She wanted a decorative window that would hide the washer and dryer, and didn't want to use opalescent glass. In addition to the roundels we used 1" square faceted glass jewels.

    The leading holding the roundels and glass together can vary in width and shape as well. In this case we used 1/4" lead. depending on the size roundel and effect we have used 3/16" and 3/8" wide lead came. After the window is assembled, soldered, and puttied reinforcing bars are soldered to the inside to support the weight and pressures.

Designing and Creating a Stained Glass Window

     So what is the first thing you need when commissioned to make a stained glass window? After your deposit of course. How about a design? When designing a window you need to keep a few things in mind. First, you want to please your client, but you must keep in mind the end result. You have more experience at designing and installing than your client. Your client relies on you to create a product that ultimately works with the environment. If you stay solely with what your client want(color, texture, design) the end result may not be what everyone was hoping for. When it is all said and done you are the one responsible for the finished product, and you want your client happy. You also want a nice addition to your portfolio. So you can't be bashful about voicing your opinion, although in a positive, and thoughtful manner.

  
  

Many times your design may come from another design element in the home or office. This can make designing a much easier task, although you don't want your end product to look like  just an addition to the wallpaper. In the example here my client and I both liked the design on one of the hand towels in her guest bathroom. We also wanted to stay in the same color tones which was grey and white. There were a few choices in picking up the design. We could use it as a border horizontal treatment with the design also going through the center on a horizontal band accompanied with duplicate bands on the top and bottom. We could design the window with a double image of the towel design, or we could use a single design to cover the whole window. In this case the window was approximately 22" x 45" and it was a double hung window. My client wanted to hang the window in front of the double hung, and obscure the view out the window.

 

     We chose the single design with a double border. We also decided to use 1/2" zinc cap as a border instead of a wooden frame. This gave us more glass to work with, made the window less bulky in appearance than if we used a wooden frame, and stayed with the grey color scheme. We wanted to obscure the white window frame and the view, so we opted for opalescent glass for the main design, and outside border.  In this case we used Spectrum grey, white, and black glass which stayed with the contemporary feel of the bathroom.We also used grey and clear Spectrum water glass for the background outside of the design. Finally, my client always loves jewels, so we added an interior border of 1" beveled glass, and a 2" clear faceted jewel in the center(which shows up as white since it is over the white window frame. We also added jewels in the top and bottom. These were ground down from larger jewels to fit the design. we used two 3/8" reinforcing bars on the back side. Each of these ran along the lead line so they are invisible from the front.

     To hang the window we drilled holes in the zinc came, ran a chain link through them, and hung the window with two J-hooks that were screwed into the window header.

The result was a window that looked classy, obscured the window frame, and outside, and allowed plenty of light into the bathroom. Best of all my client is in love with it, and I am too.

It is not too busy, it doesn't jump out at you, and it allows access to the double hung window if exterior ventilation is ever desired.

You will see more windows from this house in following Blogs.

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