Engraving

Engraving, also known Brilliant-cutting, is a highly skilled technique of cutting a design into glass with diamond or stone wheels that rotate on a lathe. Not to be confused with sand-blasting, brilliant-cutting creates deep angled groves, which when polished, capture and refract the full spectrum of light.

Worldwide, there are very few master engravers capable of working on large-scale pieces of glass. With two master engravers working in the vicinity of Susan Wagner Designs, we are delighted to join our designs with their specialized skills. The resulting one-of-a-kind artwork adds tremendous distinction and value.

Image 1: A traditional acanthus design is engraved into hand-textured glass, framed by two formal borders

Image 2: Glass is suspended from a pivoting pulley system mounted on the ceiling and hand guided over a spinning lathe. (shown here: Richard working on "Wings of the Spirit" doors)

Image 3: A detail from the completed entryway

Image 4: Brilliant-cutting into a background, frosted for privacy

Visit the Engraved Glass page for more examples.