Learn to make your own stained glass art at these Long Island classes

You don’t have to be an artist to make stained glass.

To become a stained-glass creator "you need to be able to wear safety glasses and a pair of gloves, and be able to glue," says Carol Blieka, who’s has been taking classes at Glass Art since the Port Jefferson Station studio opened in October 2016. You also need time, and lots of it.

A retired elementary school aide, Blieka, 60, of Rocky Point, says she loves creating art.

"Although I’m not good at soldering, the stained glass is just so pretty and there’s a great camaraderie at the workshops," she says, adding, "And the end result always comes out nice."

In stained glass workshops, Blieka has created dragonflies, butterflies, ladybugs, sailboats, pumpkins, owls, and songbirds, most pieces the size of one’s hand.

"In the summertime, I hang them all around my pergola on the back deck," she says. "They’re beautiful."

At Glass Arts, Blieka has also completed a half-dozen mosaic projects of mermaids, pelicans, fish and other designs, with each project taking about 60 hours from start to finish.

"I have them placed all around my condo in Florida," she says. "Everybody makes a comment about them. They’re really fabulous."

One medium, different methods

At Glass Art Studios, there are Mosaic Monday classes where people work at their own pace, explains owner Bonnie Bittner.

Geared for all ages, mosaic glass instruction entails arranging pieces of glass into a desired shape, then gluing them onto a wooden, glass or ceramic substrate and finishing it off with grout.

"You’re going to glue each piece down to a substrate, leaving some space," explains Bittner. "When the glue dries, you’re going to grout over it."

In Bittner’s stained glass workshops, everyone works on one project, such as a palm tree or lighthouse, with glass that she’s precut and ground to save time.

For beginners, workshops are taught in four sessions where you learn the entire process of stained glass art, from cutting to soldering, Bittner says, adding that because soldering involves working with an extremely hot soldering iron, these workshops are recommended for those 16 and older.

Students at beginner stained glass classes at K’s Art Glass Studio in Centereach learn the "Tiffany" method of designing, cutting, grinding, foiling and soldering glass.

K’s Art Glass Studio's intermediate classes work on larger, more complicated projects, which require previous experience with the medium. In the advanced classes, students create lamps from molds.

Fusing classes, also known as warm stained glass, at K’s Art Glass Studio require previous knowledge of cutting glass, notes Karen Capasso, owner of the Centereach studio.

"We offer fused tile-making classes," says Capasso. "Plate or bowl making would be next. Then, fused jewelry classes are available as well."

Intimate classes

Typically, Glass Art Studios would offer classes for 12 people. Due to COVID-19, they’re now limited to up to seven people. For workshops, classes are even smaller, because they require more space to spread out.

Classes at Port Stained Glass in Port Washington were temporarily suspended amid the pandemic and owner Larry Gordon plans to restart them by December. Gordon, who’s been working in stained glass for the past 45 years, will offer basic stained glass designing, cutting and soldering, for which he will supply the glass for the first five classes. A maximum of six to eight students per class can make two small panels of stained glass, using Gordon’s own designs.

Classes at K’s Art Glass and a Touch of Glass in West Hempstead are also limited to small groups, of up to six people.

No matter the size of the class, stained glass making is really just a matter of putting the pieces together, much like doing a puzzle, says Blieka.

"Because for the stained glass classes, Bittner has everything precut and she always has a finished piece. So, you really just have to look at it and say, ‘OK, I can do this,’ " Blieka says.