FREEPORT, Ill. – Ted Gross sees the world in pieces of color; they come in all shapes and sizes. Visions will come to his mind, or he may take a picture with a camera to capture it until he can recreate it. The result is a stained glass creation which may be a picture, water fountain or an ornamental piece for a garden.

Gross, of Freeport, is retired after 41 years working at the former Kelly Springfield, and retiring from Titan. He now has time to work on his art and most days he can be found in the basement of his home because it’s cooler there.

“I tapped into a love with stained glass more than 10 years ago,” Gross said. “I have always been a person who loves to work with my hands, so this is a perfect fit.”

Over the years, Gross has built many stained glass pieces and a favorite is a picture of his son Ryan playing soccer in high school. Gross also makes wood frames for his pictures and he built a CD cabinet for another son.

Gross has taught a few classes over the years, hoping to bring stained glass to light as an art form. There are many forms of art that can be made with stained glass, yet Gross said each takes a different talent to get the end result.

“The thing I like about doing a new piece is picking out the color – this really is the key to a good piece of art,” Gross said. “Glass is basically a liquid that settles into form and when I begin to cut it into shape, it really comes alive when placed correctly with another color.”

Stained glass is an art form that has been around for thousands of years and traditionally was used exclusively in windows of churches or other buildings. Modern pieces may include three-dimensional sculptures. It requires artistic skill to be able to conceive a design and even some kind of engineering skills to be able to assemble the decorative pieces of glass to fit snugly in a frame that houses the glass either by foil or leaded framing, also known as came. Came is the lead divider bar used between each piece of glass.

Gross frequently uses the came method, which is essential to any stained glass project created that is exposed to the elements, like windows, water falls or pond pieces.

Gross said each stained glass piece has two patterns. One is the base pattern of the piece and the other is each piece cut into sections as a guide to cutting the glass piece.

“The reason I got into working with stained glass is I have always liked working with jig saw puzzles and believe me, a stained art piece is like a jig saw puzzle,” Gross said.

Gross garners some of the patterns he uses from books and others he creates by using a computer. He said he loves the challenge each piece of art offers him. “The more complicated the better,” he said. “I really love what I do with stained glass and it pleases me to know others get to enjoy what I do.”

Gross said he does commission work and has one of his favorite pieces is a fountain he designed at Timber Lake Playhouse in Mount Carroll. He also has sent some of his work to Japan and Spain and has been exhibited locally at the Stephenson County Visitors Center. He sells his work on consignment at Countryside Market in Eleroy and at the Floral Shop in Lanark.

Since 1996, Gross has constructed 144 art pieces with stained glass and logs each piece in a book by using the Roman number method. He also signs each piece and stamps with a Roman numeral on the back.

“The beauty of this art is there are no two pieces alike,” Gross said. “I don’t think of myself as a crafter – this is art.”