"Are we going to be putting the color into the glass?" I remember asking when I took my first stained glass class in 2000.  And just the other day when we were discusing color choices, a client asked me if I would be putting the color in.  The truth is: I buy glass with the color already in it-- just the way that sheet is in my hands in the picture.  Earlier this week, I went to Rainbow Art Glass to buy glass for a few projects I'm starting.  The glass comes in large sheets, sometimes 48 inches high, and they are made in thousands of colors and textures.  

A few years ago, I went to the Youghiogheny Factory in Connellsville, PA to watch as they hand-made sheet glass by ladling scoops of molten glass onto a flat surface and mixing them.  Follow this link to see some photos.  It was amazing the care they took to get the right consistency but still every sheet was slightly different.  In a way, the sheets of glass were already works of art. 

I love the material of glass and can spend hours looking for the "right" sheet. There are so many choices and it's fun for me to get the raw materials that will go into a finished window.  I will cut this green sheet into pieces that I will use as I make a window and a transom for a house in Lawrenceville and I will share those photos when the piece is finished.