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Kicking Glass
A Creative Guide to Stained Glass Craft
Neile Cooper’s Kicking Glass explores stained glass-making with tutorials and colorful inspirations.
Cooper’s book takes some of the mystery and fear out of making stained glass, outlining detailed information about setting up one’s craft space with tools and essential safety equipment. The list of necessities may be daunting for entry-level crafters, but it’s a key to one’s success. And the book’s lengthy instructions are paired with photographs to guide beginners through the basics of working with tools, safely cutting glass, and soldering.
Cooper asks crafters to practice cutting so that they can get comfortable with the techniques before attempting her projects. Indeed, her first project—a sun catcher with a crescent moon shape—includes challenging curves. Still, with patience and prior practice, new stained glass artists should have all they need to complete its design.
The sun catcher is followed by projects including a beginner’s feather, stained glass inspired by quartz, and a stack of honeycomb shapes. Cooper demonstrates how to add ephemera to projects, too, including shells, stones, crystals, insect wings, and dried flowers. Her work stands to inspire makers to delve into their personal collections to create unique, meaningful art pieces. Three-dimensional stained glass projects, like boxes and butterflies, are included, as is a chapter on designing patterns of one’s own and creating custom windows for clients—concerns for advanced creators.
Kicking Glass might not be a substitute for in-person learning for stained glass novices, but it is a thorough, enthusiastic guide to the art, full of beautiful projects, helpful advice, and inspiring thoughts from working stained glass artists, all serving to help people confidently create their own first projects.
Reviewed by
Sarah White
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
