light made solid

We recently completed a new stained glass design for one of our Buddhist clients. It is a panel which depicts the Shakyamuni Buddha (also spelled Sakyamuni, or "Buddha Shakyamuni, depending on who you ask). This is our second Buddhist stained glass project. You can see our first Buddha window here.

Shakyamuni Buddha is the founder of Buddhism - the Buddha, as most people simply call him (although there are said to be other Buddhas). "Shakya" refers to the name of the royal family into which he was born in Nepal around 624 BC. "Muni" means "Able One" and reflects the promise of greatness that was fulfilled through his exemplary life.

Our client asked us to create a Buddha stained glass window which was loosely based upon the classic Tibetan depictions, such as one found on this site. This was both a challenging and interesting project, because we were required to follow many rather strict rules according to how the Buddha is traditionally depicted.

For more images of Shakyamuni Buddha, try a Google image search. You'll be able to get a better sense of how this stained glass interpretation both fits into Buddhist artistic tradition, but makes concessions towards the stained glass format.

The Stained Glass Association of America (the SGAA) is one of the bigger organizations devoted to stained glass in the United States. Their website has lots of great photos, history and other information on the craft of stained glass. They also put out a magazine four times a year called The Stained Glass Quarterly. It's a showcase of contemporary art glass from all over, and there are some interesting articles and advertising resources for people active in the field. They also put out an annual Sourcebook in addition to that. Among other things, the SGAA also has a scholarship which can be applied for here. If you're interested in becoming a member of the SGAA, you can go here for more information and a list of the benefits you'll receive as part of this organization.

Stained glass is a subset of a much larger field, sometimes referred to merely as religious art, but also frequently called Liturgical Art. While stained glass may not always be religious in nature, Liturgical art is by definition. Liturgical art is designed to inspire people in their worship ceremonies and in their sacred spaces. This may be as formal as a Mass in a church, or it may be something much smaller in scale in a congregation meeting place. If you'd like to find out more about our religious art, please browse our gallery, and find out about our services.

Here also are some other liturgical artists and designers who have interesting work online.

1. Liturgical Environments
   
2. Armento Liturgical Arts
   
3. Humenick Liturgical Arts
   
4. The Liturgical Artists of Catholic Supply

Besides religious and residential use, stained glass can make an excellent addition to public spaces. Just check out this article about stained glass artist Guy Kemper. Kemper recently completed a 110-foot-long colored window for a new terminal at Baltimore-Washington International Airport. Kemper has done a great deal of other religious windows, and is also part of a project to do memorial art at Ground Zero in New York City.

Airport authorities at BWI commissioned Kemper to create Celestial Passage as an "architectural enhancement" - contemporary buzzwords for artistic pieces that break up the monotony of public spaces. Unlike a painting in a museum, an artwork in a public space must fit in with its surroundings while simultaneously standing out. Kemper's piece works because of the traveler's own movement on the escalator: As the stairs descend, the bright orange and blue swashes of color also seem to move - toward the sky.

"BWI has joined other major airports in providing architectural enhancements that help create a strong sense of place," says airport spokesman Jonathan Dean. "This particular enhancement reflects the airport's commitment to providing a positive and memorable travel experience."

Glass Threshold can help you if you're interested in putting together a stained glass project for your public space. We've got over a decade of experience in all kinds of stained glass, and can help you come up with a solution that will enhance your space, and magnificently fulfill your project requirements. Just drop us a line for more info.

I just found a worthwhile piece on the Indianapolis Star. It's about how to make sure that your stained glass window project is properly insulated. Depending on the quality of the workmanship, a stained glass window may have tiny spaces in its assembly, sometimes resulting in a drafty window. If not drafty, then there's at least a chance it won't be as good at keeping out the cold as an ordinary piece of insulated glass. This article has excellent suggestions for getting around that. The technique that we're most familiar with is also covered in this article. For the best results, it may be a good idea to install your normal insulated piece of glass first from the outside of your window. Then, from the inside, you can have a stained glass craftsperson measure and build your window to fit inside there. This way, you get the exterior benefit of an insulated window. But from the inside, all you see is the stained glass. Plus, if you move, or need to have the window repaired, installation from the inside allows you to take out the window more easily.

Learning how to work with stained glass can be a daunting task, especially when you're trying to figure it out on your own. If you're not able to find a class at a community center, or stained glass shop, your next best bet would be heading over to the bookstore, and finding some things to get you started.

In terms of general how-to and introduction to the craft, you could try any of the following:

1. The Complete Stained Glass Course: How to Master Every Major Glass Work Technique
   
2. Basic Stained Glass Making: All the Skills and Tools You Need to Get Started
   
3. Introduction to Stained Glass: A Teaching Manual
   
4. Quick Success Stained Glass: A Beginner's Instruction Guide
   
5. Stained Glass: Step by Step

Many books of stained glass patterns also exist. These might be a good place to get started:

1. Nature Designs Stained Glass Pattern Book
   
2. Ornamental Flower Stained Glass Pattern Book: 83 Designs for Workable Projects
   
3. Sidelights, Fanlights and Transoms Stained Glass Pattern Book: 180 Designs for Workable Projects
   
4. 162 Traditional and Contemporary Designs for Stained Glass Projects
   
5. 390 Traditional Stained Glass Designs

For general history, these could point you in the right direction:

1. Old Stained Glass for the Home: A Guide for Collectors and Designers
   
2. Stained Glass : From its Origins to the Present

This should be more than enough to get you started. Have fun!

Much of Christian iconography and symbolism was appropriated from pre- and non-Christian religions over the course of European and Western history. Churches were built over old pagan holy sites. Pagan deities became Christian saints or demons. Many of the oldest churches and cathedrals in Europe still bear the marks of this trend. You'll see strange non-Christian figures carved into entry-ways, arches and other elements of the church. Some say these were done in order to attract people of old religions to the new religion of Christianity.

Over the past century or more, there's been an enormous upswell to reclaim many of these pre- and non-Christian religious traditions. Movements such as Neo-Paganism, Wicca, shamanism, some New Age traditions and the Gnostic revival are all good examples. In many cases, believers in these traditions have taken an active interest in uncovering connections between Christian religious symbolism and other older traditions.

For people interested in such things, stained glass might be a nice way for you to explore this type of imagery. We've got a couple images on our site for personal windows we did for people which express various aspects of their own private spiritual journey. And we'd love to help you illuminate your own.

Also in our religious stained glass gallery, we have a nice contemplative window of the Buddha. In addition to Hindu and Jewish stained glass windows, windows featuring Buddhist themes are also gaining in popularity.

When looking at images of the Buddha, it's important to look at the position he is in. The arrangement of his arms, legs and body will communicate what part of the story is being illustrated. The positions of his hands are called "mudras" and can also be seen in Hindu traditions - out of which Buddhism arose. In our image of the Buddha, you'll see him with his hands folded in his lap. This is referred to as the Dhyana mudra, and is a gesture of meditation. Another site with information on the different poses of Buddha says: "The gesture symbolizes perfect balance of thought and tranquility."

Here's a small sampling of other images of the Buddha done in stained glass:

1. A very simple unpainted Buddha panel.
   
2. A more elaborate Buddha image
   
3. A Buddha image with some nice colors and a little bit of painted work.
   
4. An art glass site with a few different types of Buddhist windows, some of which are quite nice.

Find out more about the Buddha on Wikipedia.

If you browse around our religious stained glass gallery, one of the items you'll see is a depiction of the Old Testament figure, King Solomon.

The second son of David and Bathsheba, Solomon became king around 1037 BCE, displacing several older brothers who David had had with other women. Solomon's rule lasted some forty years, under which his kingdom prospered greatly. Solomon's history is recorded in 1 Kings 1 and 2 Chronicles 1. He was renowned for his great wisdom and is commonly credited with having written the Biblical books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon - though this is historically debateable.

Solomon was also responsible for the building of the Temple in Jerusalem as a permanent housing for the Ark of the Covenant. He built the temple thanks to his alliance with Hiram of Tyre (who is an important figure in Freemasonic legend).

Solomon's success was also his undoing however. In addition to ammassing an enormous fortune, he is said to have had some 700 wives and 300 concubines. He's also generally thought to have devolved away from worship of the one true God into idol worship; some claim this was on account of his many many foreign wives. Because of his misdeeds, a prophet visits Solomon who tells him that his son will suffer on account of his sins, and that his kingdom will be split into two: Israel and Judah. Solomon also appears in the Qur'an, whererin he is called Sulayman.

While stained glass is traditionally associated with Christianity, it can also be used to make beautiful windows for other religious traditions. If you browse around our religious window galleries, you'll see that we've also been commissioned to make windows for Jewish and Buddhist projects.

Looking around online, it looks like there's a small but growing trend of making stained glass windows of Hindu themes. The most popular figure, by far, seems to be the elephant-headed god, Ganesh. Here are some links to depictions of Ganesh on other sites:

1. Ganesh stained glass
   
2. Ganesh window and free pattern
   
3. Ganesh and some other stained glass images

Hinduism has one of the world's longest and richest traditions of making religious art. There are all kinds of incredible statues, temples, paintings and much more to draw from. If you're interested in commissioning a Hindu stained glass window, we'd love to help. Contact us to bring your project to life.