Walnut Hill Glass
About
Walnut Hill Glass
Hello! Welcome to Walnut Hill Glass. I’m Kate, the artist behind these glass creations. Growing up in the Blue Ridge Mountains fostered my love for nature and the outdoors. I eventually settled down in the tiny town of Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia to raise my family.
My glass journey started several years ago with an antique door with a broken windowpane. I was terrified to cut that first piece of glass. I was worried that I would ruin this beautiful vintage door that survived 150 years at a local fruit warehouse.
Experimenting with small glass shapes, I began making little stained-glass creatures, until I was confined that I could make something amazing with that antique door… and I did!
Soon stained-glass art bloomed into my passion. Now, I specialize in unique and whimsical free-form art pieces, usually with a playful nature theme.
Don’t be scared to try something new!
Don’t be afraid to break the glass!
Some days, every cut will shatter, but don’t stop!
The journey is amazing!
Kate Grim,
Owner & Artist
Walnut Hill Glass
The Stained-Glass Process:
Creating beautiful Tiffany Styled Stained Glass is a meticulous process.
There are many intricate steps involved. Here at Walnut Hill Glass, our artist Kate is highly skilled in this complex method.
Pattern:
It all starts with a design. I create a lot of my own designs, but over the years I’ve also purchased cool patterns books and patterns online. I also enjoy sharing patterns with friends and fellow artist.
As technology advances, I’ve even dabbled with modern day artificial intelligence (AI) and computer programs that convert images or pictures into fun patterns.
Stencil:
I always make my stencils by hand. Once I have the perfect pattern, I apply the design onto cardstock that is backed with painter’s tape.
It makes a sturdy stencil that is easily transferred onto vinyl sticker paper.
This is my 150 year-old vintage door and I'm so super proud of it!
Glass ~ Glass ~ and more Glass:
Glass is the key to elevating any project to perfection! There are so many more choices than just color when it comes to artisanal glass.
The big names in glass manufactures are: Bullseye, Kokomo, Oceanside, Spectrum, Wissmach and Youghiogheny.
Each make beautiful glass sheets with unique characteristics.
Artisan Glass Features:
~Air Bubbles & Seeds
~Bold Streaks
~Cathedral Glass
~Color Swirls & Variations
~Granite Texture
~Iridescent
~Luminescent
~Mirroring
~Mottled Texture
~Opaque
~Opalescent
~Pearlescent
~Prisma
~Ripples Texture
~Rough Rolled & Double Rolled
~Refraction of Pattern
~Transparent
~Unique Imperfections
~Variations of Thickness
~Waterglass
Let’s Break Some Glass!!!
Once the stencil is applied to your glass, it’s time to cut.
The Creator’s Hummingbird hand cutter is my favorite because it’s very small and fits perfectly to my hand size.
Glass is first scored with a carbide wheel dipped in cutting oil, then applying pressure along both sides of the scoreline for the break.
If you need to clean up a wayward break, using running pliers, grozing pliers or nippers are the way to go.
Grinding:
To smooth the sharp edges that remain on your glass and to contour along the pattern, I use an electric water grinder with a diamond grinding bit.
It pulls water from the reservoir up the helix spiral to self-water the grinder bit.
This smooths the rough edges and makes the glass pieces fit perfectly together.
Foil:
Using copper foil for stained glass is the heart of the Tiffany Method.
The edges of each piece of glass are wrapped in copper foil that overlaps so it just slightly covers the top and bottom of the glass.
This foil can be either copper backed, black backed or silver backed.
Each one is used for different glass applications, for example, the silver back foil is for mirrored glass to reflect and make the mirror to appear continuous. The black backed foil is for clear or translucent glass, to make black patina appear continuous.
Once the foil is applied, it is burnished down with a wooden fid to secure the adhesion to the glass.
Assembly & Solder
Assembly:
Now that the glass has been cut, the edges grinded and foiled, it’s time to fit the pieces securely together like a jigsaw puzzle!
Solder Time!
To permanently join all the pieces together, it’s time to bring on the heat. The copper foil is coated with flux to clean off any impurities before soldering.
I use a Hakko soldering iron, with my preferred temperature setting at
410 Celsius / 770 Fahrenheit.
Solder is a metal alloy composed of 60% tin and 40% lead that starts to melt at 183C / 360F. Once the solder starts to melt, I run a bead of solder over the copper foil, fusing the pieces together.
It’s very satisfying to see the individual pieces become one piece of art. After all the inside joints are soldered on both the front and the back, then it’s time to finish with soldering the outer edge.
Decorative Embellishments:
Each unique piece of glass art is embellished to bring out the charm. I routinely use glass paint, complex wire work, decorative solder, and epoxy resin to enhance the magic of each piece.
Patina:
Raw solder looks like shiny silver, it’s pretty, but it doesn’t really compliment the beautiful colors in stained glass. I always patina my pieces either black or copper. Patina is a chemical solution to enhance the piece by darkening the solder and protecting the metals from oxidation. Patina gives a gorgeous luxurious finish ranging from satin black, deep gunmetal, rich oil rubbed bronze, or magnificent copper.
Polish:
Glass is made to shine. Every finished stained-glass piece is waxed and polished by hand until it sparkles! Now, it’s ready to display is a special spot to catch the light.
