Introduction . . .
Some people take mirrors for granted. For many people, a mirror is just
a mirror. Something you hang on a wall and occasionally glance at.
Something simple, basic, and utilitarian in nature and quite often ignored.
Whenever I look at a mirror, I see something quite different.
Whenever I see a piece of mirrored glass, I see the beginning of an interesting new craft or art project.
I love the look of reverse painted and mirrored glass. Colorful artwork and gilding will appear behind the glass
and smoothly blend with gold, silver, copper, and/or galena blue mirroring.
People always ask me, "how in the world did you DO that?" I almost hate to let them in on my secret and
tell them that the techniques I use are far less complicated than they seem to believe.
For most crafters and artists, creating glass and mirrored artwork is beyond their abilities. Or so they think.
That the process is perhaps far too complicated to learn and use on a regular basis. It probably requires a high
degree of skill, all kinds of specialized tools, and obscure materials that might be hard to find.
Or so they think.
Sometimes they will say, "I wish I could do that." Fact is, they can, and so can you.
Quite often, artists will create glass and mirrored artwork by painting or decorating the front surface of the
glass. In my opinion, surface painting looks amateurish and the look is seldom pleasing.
Surface decoration is generally unstable in that it can flake off. Not to mention, the surface work can be easily
damaged.
This book was written to teach you a better way to create decorative mirror and glass artwork.
This book is about creating reverse painted glass and mirror art using a greatly simplified process. No crafter's
magic needed. All you will require are a few inexpensive and basic tools and materials.
Much of the commercially manufactured glass and mirror artwork is created using multiple silk-screens to create
each part of the design. If ten different colors are required, you will generally require ten individual silk-screens,
one for each color.
After screen-printing, the glass is chemically silvered to provide the required mirrored background. A completely
hand made approach would be far too expensive to use on a commercial scale.
Many (if not most) professional glass artists work essentially the same way, but on a much smaller scale. Usually,
they paint and decorate the glass by hand. Then the glass is chemically silvered.
This guide will teach you a few simple techniques that anyone can use to transform an ordinary mirrored glass into
something unique and quite special, and there is no need to worry about the glass silvering process.
The mirror art you will create will look just like the art mirrors created by using the more complicated techniques
requiring silk-screen printing, hand painting, and final glass silvering.
You have probably seen those so-called "Pub Mirrors" hanging on the walls of a local tavern. Quite often,
these pub mirrors advertise beer, wine, spirits, and other products.
You can easily duplicate the look of these decorative mirrors, but with far less work and effort. This is quite
likely the easiest craft technique you will ever try, yet it can be one of the most powerful techniques in your
'crafter's arsenal.'
Woodworkers can easily create mirrored and painted picture frame glass; inserts for cabinet doors, backs, and shelves;
mirrored game boards, and mirrored inserts for small wood boxes.
Photographers and artists can easily make unique picture frames that I guarantee will not be seen everywhere else.
This technique is ideal for creating interior wall art, signs, clock dials and faces, shadow box glass, fancy mosaic
tiles, decorating inexpensive decorative mirrors, custom rearview mirrors for vehicles, and Christmas ornaments.
Once you learn the basic technique, there is very little that you cannot easily create. All you need is a little
time, imagination, and a few commonly available tools and materials.
So gather some basic materials, a few inexpensive mirrors, and get ready to create your first project: a mirrored
and painted picture frame.
