The plans

First on the to-do list was determining the theme and the specific style of stained glass. Because stained glass is an architectural craft, the new structure itself gave clues to the final art glass designs. The church building committee favored a Tiffany-style look beginning with the dove for the rose window. (See photo at the top of the page.) This set the tone for the remainder of the windows which were designed using the theme, “Scenes From the Life of Christ”.

Many sources are used for images including beloved paintings from bible illustrations and earlier church art in art history books. These images are in the public domain, which means no one any longer owns the copyright, most likely because the artist is long dead. So these familiar scenes are recreated again and again even in modern works.

In fact, the Tiffany Studio used old works like Heinrich Hoffmann's The Agony, depicting Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Other popular paintings like The Good Shepherd are

also repeated in modern renditions of traditional painted stained glass windows.

We'll describe in more detail and in subsequent posts the process of painting the actual glass pieces. But, first, the client must choose a design and that is accomplished by researching the historic artworks, modifying as necessary or creating completely new designs, then rendering them as colored maquettes for the patron's approval.

These are examples of color renderings

created for St. Catharine of Siena. Greer's

drawings are completed by hand, but many

stained glass designers use computers.