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Tools of the Trade: Stained glass making at the Monastery
PaperPile
Father Methodius and other representatives from the Monastery of the Holy Spirit will be speaking at the South Rockdale Civic Association meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 19, from 6:45 p.m. - 8:15 p.m. at Union United Methodist Church at the corner of Highway 138 and Union Church Road. The topic will be about the developments and plans involving the Monastery's new Visitors Center. For more information, call 770-474-9128

In the second issue of our Tools of the Trade photo essay, we get an inside look at the workshop of renowned stained-glass artisan Father Methodius, a monk at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers. Father Methodius, who learned his stained glass artistry at the Monastery, has been crafting stained glass for over 50 years. We get to see what tools and materials go into crafting these works of art. 

Machined Glass: Fr. Methodius holds up a sheet of deep blue machined glass. Compared to the blown Blenko glass, machined glass sheets are have a more uniform coloration and texture.

Lead Came: A can of bent and twisted pieces of lead came. The H-shaped lead came has grooves to hold stained glass pieces into place. Lead is a favorite choice for this due to its softness and ability to easily bend into intricate shapes.

Paper Pile: Very similar to the work of an architect or draftsman, stained glass craftsmen use lots of paper to sketch out patterns as well as make full-scale layouts of the stained glass patterns.

Glass Cutter: A traditional glass cutter. Fr. Methodius shows how a glass cutter tool is used to score the glass surface. After scoring, the glass will easily fracture along the line, producing a precise edge.

Paintbrushes: Fr. Methodius uses special paint to modify color shades and texture of the stained glass. Like painters, paintbrushes for the stained glass artisan are a necessary tool.

Glass and Outline: Each stained glass piece is drawn out on paper. Once the glass pieces are cut, they are laid out onto the paper for proper fitting and configuration.

Kiln: Fr. Methodius shows off his kiln, used in firing various pieces of stained glass. To adjust the color and texture of the glass, special paint is used that, when baked in the kiln, will permanently fuse with the glass. The kiln fires the glass to a temperature of around 1200 degrees Fahrenheit. The kiln can go higher, but then the glass starts to melt.