Glass Painting Terms

Tracing –
to paint a very thin line in one smooth, calligraphic stroke to define the basic shapes in the glass painting

Matting –
to apply a very thin coat of paint over the entire surface of the glass (usually
after tracing and firing) for further definition and highlighted details of the glass painting

Stippling –
removal of the matting to expose more glass and often used as a shading technique, using a pouncing motion, producing a pinhole effect

Stick-lighting –
removal of the matting to expose more glass and often used as a shading effect to create roundness and dimension in the glass painting

Firing –
the heating of the glass and paints to fuse the paints with the glass or stain the glass with the silver stains