Calle Honduras, 28 Bajo – 37003 Salamanca
In this workshop artistic stained glass windows are carried out with imported types of glass. They are manufactured following different techniques and using different colours. Its production process is mainly based on traditional techniques such as leading up or the Tiffany technique, maintaining the procedure,… the means, the materials and the tools which have always been used.
The steps which are followed are always pretty much the same. It all starts with the design, previously presented to the client and which will be based on the idea the client presented the team. Then they draw it at a 1/1 real-size scale. In this template everyone can appreciate the entire composition better. Then they decide which glass type they are going to use. The next step is to cut the glass pieces after tracing them from the drawing. Straight after that, the leading up phase – or alternatively the use of copper finishings – comes in – depending on which technique is going to be used. The intersection points are welded – in the case of lead – or the tin sealing cord is placed – if it is copper that is being used. In leaded stained glass windows a special type of caulk is used so the pieces remain well-joined together to the lead profiles.
They also carry out the painting on the glass using enamels and grisailles, melting them with the glass itself in an oven at a temperature of 650ºC. This system enables to manufacture stained glass windows with realistic drawings, being able to give certain nuances to them. The common images which one can find in the stained glass windows of cathedrals and churches are a good example of this procedure.
The restoration of stained glass windows involves preserving as much as possible the parts of the stained glass windows which are in better conditions, substituting the lead elements – if necessary – and using special lead materials or resins to fill in the holes in order to preserve the painted glass pieces of great value as untouched as possible.
A stained glass window can be placed in any sort of opening: windows, doors, skylights, fake openings filled with artificial light, etc. It is an important part of the decoration of private dwellings, commercial premises, restaurants, cafes, and both public and religious-type buildings.
The craft was learnt with Stained Glass Masters at the School of Arts and Crafts in León over a period of three years of education and two years of practical training.
Moreover, there has been an interest in broadening this knowledge by receiving specialized courses on… glass painting and restoration of stained glass windows at the School of La Granja, in Segovia, along with other complementary courses such as those relating to security and hygiene, data protection, telematics, IT and graphic design, among others.
They have carried out restoration works in the Palace of Capriotti (Ávila) and in the Cathedral, the Palace of Montarco and the Convent of the Úrsulas (Salamanca), apart from other stained glass windows for private clients.
They have carried out new stained glass windows for the… Cathedrals of Ávila, Salamanca and Ciudad Rodrigo; the Convent of La Purísima, the Museo Casa Lis (Salamanca), the School in Alba de Tormes, the Abbey of the Templars (La Alberca, Salamanca) and the Carrascalino Palace, among other works for restaurants and private dwellings.