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Stained glass windows

  • 1.  Stained glass windows

    Posted 03-05-2019 12:51
    Does anyone have some good suggestions for making "stained glass" set pieces?  I've looked for ideas online and found a few, but several seem very time consuming.  

    I would like to make a couple of large arched windows and maybe a large circular window.  I know that some hardware stores sell "stained glass" adhesive material.  Would this work on plexi-glass?  

    I also saw that someone used black hot glue on plexiglass to make the outline and then acrylic paint for the individual panels.  There is a product available called Gallery Glass, but it gets very mixed reviews.  

    Brad Schmidt
    Belleville East High School





  • 2.  RE: Stained glass windows

    Posted 03-05-2019 14:02
    If you don't need glass, a cost-effective workaround would be to cut the pattern in a sheet of thin plywood, and use colored tissue paper for the glass panes. We built a light box so we could illuminate ours from behind, and it worked surprisingly well.

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    Josh Kauffman
    Teacher
    Winfield AL
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  • 3.  RE: Stained glass windows

    Posted 03-05-2019 14:14
    We have been working on the Addams Family set for a 5 weeks now. We are just about done with creating our Stain Glass window. 

    Its a combination of 3 things 
    - Luan 4x8 sheet
    - 2 inch flexible cork stripes
    - colored cellophane rolls


    In our case we mounted the the luan wall up in the house. The drew out the design for the window. Traced that with the 2 inch wide cork. We used both cork with adhesive and just pre-cut strips. 
    The drilled pilot holes in the interior where the window panes are. The took Jig saw and cut out the windows pane. From the back side cut and glued the cellophane to the wall. 


    I think it;s turning out very nice. Going to see if I can attach a photo for you to reference, 


    Good luck.

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    Ron Obringer
    North Tonawanda NY
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  • 4.  RE: Stained glass windows

    Posted 03-06-2019 07:02
    I’ve done this except instead of tissue paper, we’ve used scraps of gel from our lights.

    Sent from my iPhone




  • 5.  RE: Stained glass windows

    Posted 03-06-2019 07:54
    We've done stained glass for years using muslin and Rosco Supersaturated Paint.  The paint is made to be diluted and still not lose it's brilliance.  By watering it down, it become translucent when you paint it on the muslin.  Draw out your stained glass design, decide on your colors, and then paint directly onto the muslin.  Backlight it and you've got a remarkably realistic stained glass window.  What's nice about this technique is that you can get really intricate looks.  Our latest was the huge rose window in Notre Dame for our production of Hunchback a few years ago.  When the show is done--take the muslin off the frame, roll it up for easy storage.

    interrior scene cathedral of Notre Dame

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    Ron Parker
    Theatre Educator
    Appleton North High School
    Appleton WI
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  • 6.  RE: Stained glass windows

    Posted 03-06-2019 05:21
    Check out the Easy Ornaments at http://tobinslake.com/

    I have purchased several different sets over the years ... including the stained glass windows. What's great is that after a show they can be taken down and saves and used on a future set.

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    Toni Thomas
    English Teacher, Theatre Director
    West Branch MI
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  • 7.  RE: Stained glass windows

    Posted 03-06-2019 05:31
    Try hot glue and lots of gels. We used a wood frame and designed our own. Labor intensive but looked great!

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    Elisabeth Ledwell
    Falmouth MA
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  • 8.  RE: Stained glass windows

    Posted 03-06-2019 06:20
    I used plexiglass last year to make stained glass windows. I tested hot glue on a small panel and I found that it didn't stick and was hard to control the way I wanted to. I ended up using black painters tape from the art store to create the borders. I also used a gel gloss medium and paint meant for stained glass which was not cheap but worked very well and when thinned went a long way. The materials are available from Blick art supplies stores.

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    Nancy Lomas-Reynolds
    Director and Theatre Coordinator
    Voorhees High School
    Glen Gardner, NJ
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  • 9.  RE: Stained glass windows

    Posted 03-06-2019 06:39
    I have used vinal from a fabric store and painted/frosted it in the past, cut the shape from wood and attached to the back

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    Jerry Onik
    V.P. Theatrical Supplies and Equipment
    Omaha NE
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  • 10.  RE: Stained glass windows

    Posted 03-06-2019 07:27
    We have used a variety of approaches: Frosted privacy film (Lowes) and markers: Cellophane (think lighting gel) and electrical tape: painted muslin flat ( photo)Peace and blessings!

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    Tamara Plasterer
    Artistic Director, Fine Arts Dept. Chair.
    Padua Franciscan High School
    Parma OH
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  • 11.  RE: Stained glass windows

    Posted 03-07-2019 07:05
    For any stained glass windows that we have done, we always used lighting gels to achieve the look. Looks great, especially when the light shines through them. For Footloose we created a 1x3 frame of a crucifix for the church and then added the gel pieces and about 1/2-3/4" strips of black gaff tape to hole the pieces in place as well as act as the grout.

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    James Fry
    Director of Student Life and the Malvern Theatre Society
    Malvern, PA
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  • 12.  RE: Stained glass windows

    Posted 03-08-2019 04:34
    Yes,  I too have used lighting gels with great success.  I have also used colored cellophane, however you have to use multiple layers

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    Matthew Phipps
    Director
    Wright WY
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  • 13.  RE: Stained glass windows

    Posted 03-07-2019 09:23
    For my Agnes of God, I used 1/4 plywood cut in the pattern with gel for the color. I used a leko focused on Agnes through the "window" to put her, in her white postulate's habit, in an immersive splash of color. It was beautiful and really helped tell the story.

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    Robert Smith
    VA Co-Chapter Director
    Retired
    Centreville VA
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  • 14.  RE: Stained glass windows

    Posted 03-07-2019 20:43
    We taped a colored picture to the back of a piece of plexiglass, then outlined the front of the plex with black glue. Lit from behind, it worked fairly well.it worked fairly well. The black glue is white glue with black paint added.

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    Jodi Improta
    Fine Arts Department Chair
    Fullerton CA
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  • 15.  RE: Stained glass windows

    Posted 03-08-2019 21:31
      |   view attached
    We used black puff paint for the leading.  Once that was dry we colored clear Elmer's glue with food coloring and painted the insides.

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    Cindy Skelton
    Drama Teacher
    San Mateo Union High School District
    Burlingame CA
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