Stanton Studios is known for it’s iconic designs in stained glass windows, cabinetry, doors, transoms, and sidelights, but it’s always an impressive sight when our designer and bench craftsmen come together to create a dome! Domes are slightly more complex than our other stained glass masterpieces, due to the curved nature of the dome. The processes involved with building a dome are very interesting and complex. Want to know more about our experience with domes and what dome we’re working on currently? Read on to catch a glimpse of how our domes are made and see some of our favorite projects of the past!
Stanton Studios has worked on several domes and skylights, but the projects we’d like to showcase in this post are the dome we restored for the Morton Museum of Cooke County, a large custom dome that we designed and fabricated for the Driskill hotel, and a smaller rustic style custom dome for the kitchen of a private residence! These three projects were some of our most beautiful challenges and we’d love to share a little about them!
The dome that we restored for the Morton Museum was massive and depicted Asian influences throughout the ages! This dome was restored and reassembled with new lead pieces and reinstalled into the Cooke County in Gainesville, Texas. It was originally created in 1905 and was commissioned by William and Ella Dougherty, who were fascinated with Japanese culture. Four of the panels are hand-painted with warlords and geisha! This piece has been a part of the Morton Museum since its inception and it’s a signature piece of the museum and all of Gainesville. We were so proud to be a part of preserving the history of a piece that means so much to the community it’s in.
For the Driskill hotel, we designed and built an enormous custom dome! The masterpiece that was created for the Driskill hotel is a massive, bright, yellow and orange piece that serves as the centerpiece of the hotel lobby. This dome was designed by our owner and designer, Bryant Stanton, and brought to life by our bench craftsmen. Upon the dome’s installation, it was also backlit by LED lights!
Not only have we created large, grand domes for businesses and public spaces, but we’ve also designed and created smaller domes of different styles for residential spaces! One of our favorite residential domes was one that was created for a home in a rustic Texas residence. This particular project features work from both our glass and metal shop. The steel frame holds the skylight dome up above the stove in this beautiful kitchen. The skylight is illuminated by day with natural daylight and in the evening by artificial lighting.
Currently, we are working on a medium-sized custom dome for another Texas residence. Right now, we are working with our partners at Nickell Metalsmiths to create the frame for the dome! John Nickell and his crew from Nickell Metalsmiths have already done a fantastic job so far and we can already see the frame of the dome in the correct shape and dimensions. Nickell and his crew welded the metal frame to perfectly fit 8 triangular shaped panels of glass and a small center circle of glass that can be seen in the center of the frame. Soon, our glass shop will begin building the 8 glass inserts that our designer has envisioned for this masterpiece! The design features a fun spiral design and beautiful bright colors!
According to our manager, Jordan, who is overseeing the project, the glass itself in the dome is not curved, but flat! Jordan says, “All the glass in the dome will be flat glass. It’s in the design that you get the curve that becomes the dome.” Because of this, the beginning process of creating the dome is just like making all of our other stained glass windows! Our bench craftsmen will begin by building the eight triangular patterns that make up the dome, and then the panels will be placed in a mold, where the lead that is holding the flat glass pieces together, will shift and move to create the curve of the dome! This particular dome is a larger project, having a diameter of 6 feet and a height of 5 feet, so it will have more of a gradual curve. Jordan commented, “The gentler your curve, the bigger your glass pieces can be.”
The math and artistry involved with bringing these glorious masterpieces to life is impressive, to say the least! We are so proud of our designer, who is able to envision a design that works so perfectly as a dome as well as our bench craftsmen, who help bring the glass domes to life! We can’t wait to see this dome completed. Stay tuned to our social media to get updates on this project!
Interested in knowing more about our domes and skylights? Visit our portfolio by clicking here, or call us at (800) 619-4882 for more information! Our craftsmen and our designer are always up for the fun challenge of building a dome or skylight and we can’t wait for the opportunity to build another one.
