With each new design, our artists must first determine which of the 1200+ colors in the Glassmasters' palette will meet the exacting requirements of the design. The artist begins with meticulously executed drawings, and then determines the area and density of each enamel that will be applied to create a perfectly colored design.
The application of the color is a slow process. Starting with European-made cathedral and other fine glasses, the colors are individually applied and then dried at temperatures reaching 300 degrees Farenheit. Each enamel is cooled and inspected -- one color at a time -- before the next enamel is applied. Determined by the complexity of the design, this process may be repeated as many as twenty-one times before the design enters the kiln to be fired.
When fired, each design reaches temperatures of nearly 1100 degrees Farenheit, and the enamels become permanently fused into the glass. As inherent in stained glass found in museums and private collections throughout the world, each stained glass color will be as transparent and vibrant a century from now as they appear today. Glassmasters' colors are guaranteed never to fade.
This painstaking process is why the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, The Folger Shakespeare Library, The National Gallery of Art, The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and other prestigious organizations choose Glassmasters to reproduce their stained glass treasures. In the world of fine art, Glassmasters' designs are more than a conversation piece. . . they symbolize superb craftsmanship and impeccable quality associated with collectible stained glass art. You have our assurance that you are purchasing the finest quality stained glass available.