About Kim Swift Craft Stained Glass
My History
Many years ago I was taught the traditional method of how to assemble stained glass windows and panels using lead came. At that time well paid work in this field was hard to find so my dream of becoming a stained glass artist was not possible. Many years had passed and I was very lucky to find myself in the position of digging out and dusting down my old tools and coloured glass that had been in storage. Finally I could start creating again.
What I do
Kim Swift Craft Stained Glass evolved from my need to find a way to use the small off cut pieces of glass from my larger projects. I looked into and started the process of copper foiling the individual pieces of glass and soldering those pieces together a technique attributed to Louis Comfort Tiffany in the early 20th Century. This process allows me to make smaller more delicate work allowing me the freedom to create a wider range of decorative household pieces such as suncatchers, gift cards, wall and window art, pictures and 3 Dimensional projects, it allows me to explore and play so that I never get bored in my workshop.
Moving Forward
Heritage Crafts have recently announced that stained glass window making (traditional and historic windows) is now an endangered craft. There are many reasons why this has come about one of them being the lack of opportunities for us 'ageing' practitioners to be able to pass on our knowledge and skills. My hope is that by making and selling my smaller work I can inspire others to perhaps follow a path to becoming a stained glass artist, for me to become better placed to pass on my own skills and knowledge in both the lead and copper process and work towards providing beginner and advanced group or individual workshops. I hope to be able to do my small bit to help preserve this most amazing art form for future generations. Happy Shopping.