Techniques Tiffany’s technique | Tiffany’s technique |
|
Tiffany’s technique Origin The technique was created and developed at the turn of the 19th and 20th century by an American – Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933) who came from a famous jeweler’s family. A painter, interior decorator, the creator of iridescent glass, stained glass and jewelry. Tiffany next to John La Farge was a major representative of American art nouveau movement. He studied in New York and Paris. In 1878 he established “Louis C. Tiffany Company, Associated Artists” in New York. The company produced stained glass windows and interior goods. In the years 1900-1936 the company operated under the name “Tiffany Studios”. From 1900 Tiffany created jewelry, stained glass lamps and ceramics. His main goal was to explore the abilities that lie in the glass. He created objects made with iridescent glass, and later on he became interested in blown glass. In Europe his work was known as “verre americain”, and his influence on European glassmakers can be seen in the choice of color, technique and drawings. Thanks to Tiffany’s technique and the achievements of art nouveau movement, stained glass became more popular and remains so until today. Characteristic of the Tiffany’s technique In this technique the individual pieces of glass are joined together by copper foil. The edges of each piece of glass are firmly folded with copper foil. The individual pieces of glass are folded with enough copper foil so on each side of the glass we have a 1-3mm of copper frame. The frames of each piece of glass are close to each other so that they can be soldered on both sides. Stained glass windows larger than ½ square meter require additional reinforcement. The reinforcement can be done with wire or transparent Plexiglas plate. Stained glass made using Tiffany’s technique is not as elastic as one made with the lead technique. Once the surface of the stained glass is deformed, it will not come back to it’s original state. The limited thickness of the foil makes the stained glass vulnerable to damage, therefore we do not recommend this technique for stained glass that is exposed to constant movement and trembling. A stained glass window made using this technique is characterized by a small precise net of joints, thanks to which it is perfect for projects that consist of a large number of small elements. Using Tiffany’s technique has large influence on the reduction of the weight of the stained glass compared to the traditional technique. Stained glass made using Tiffany’s technique is two-sided, so both its sides have identical constructional structure. Tiffany’s technique usage |
