Overview:
This book, written by renowned stained-glass artist Christopher Whall, is a comprehensive guide for students and workers in the craft. Part I delves into the technical aspects, explaining the processes of cutting, painting, matting, leading, soldering, and firing. Whall emphasizes the importance of cleanliness, precision, and avoiding shortcuts in these crucial steps. He also discusses the various materials and their properties, providing practical tips for handling and managing them.
Part II shifts focus to the artistic principles behind stained glass, exploring elements like color, light, architectural fitness, and the role of thought and imagination. Whall argues that the best stained glass arises from a deep understanding of the materials and limitations of the craft, alongside a reverence for its history and connection to architecture. He encourages students to find inspiration in nature and learn from ancient examples, while advocating for a return to a craftsmanly approach where designers and workers collaborate closely.
Key Findings:
- Wastefulness: Whall highlights the wasteful practices prevalent in the English stained-glass industry at the time, contrasting it with the more economical approaches of other countries. He emphasizes the need to utilize materials wisely and encourages a shift towards a more holistic understanding of the craft.
- The Importance of Patience: Mastering stained glass requires immense patience and dedication, both in mastering the technical aspects and in developing an understanding of the artistic principles. Whall cautions against rushing the process and stresses the importance of taking time for experimentation, refinement, and learning from mistakes.
- Reverence for Tradition: Whall emphasizes the significance of learning from the history and craft traditions of stained glass. He cautions against mere imitation but urges students to respect the past while bringing their own unique style and creativity to the craft.
Learning:
- The Materiality of Stained Glass: This text-book provides detailed insights into the various types of glass used, their properties, and how they react to different techniques.
- Antique glass: Learn to identify the right and wrong sides of antique glass and understand why one side is preferred for cutting and painting.
- Flashed glass: Discover the process of flashing and how to etch the flash off to create desired effects.
- The Importance of Color: Whall guides the reader through the process of selecting, combining, and harmonizing colors in stained glass.
- The rule of quantity: Understand the importance of proportioning colors in a composition for effective harmony.
- The value of added notes: Learn how the addition of subtle tints can resolve harsh contrasts and create more nuanced and harmonious color schemes.
- Architectural Fitness: Whall emphasizes the vital connection between stained glass and architecture.
- Respecting limitations: Learn to appreciate the limitations of the medium and use them creatively to create beautiful and appropriate compositions.
- Choosing subjects and styles: Understand how the style of the building dictates the choices of subject, scale, and design for stained-glass windows.
Historical Context:
Whall writes at a time when the Arts & Crafts Movement is gaining momentum, advocating for a return to craftsmanship and artistic integrity. He critiques the prevailing division of labor and the growing prevalence of mass-produced and commercially-driven stained glass. Whall’s writing reflects a desire to return to a more artisanal approach, where the artist is deeply involved in every stage of the process, from design to execution.
Facts:
- Glass is made by blowing bubbles: Similar to blowing soap bubbles, glass is formed into sheets by blowing a bubble and manipulating it while hot.
- The wheel-cutter is an American invention: The use of a wheel for cutting glass is a relatively modern invention, attributed to an American inventor.
- The wheel-cutter works by pressure: The cutting edge of the wheel doesn’t need to be extremely sharp. Instead, pressure forces the glass particles downwards, creating a continuous split.
- Under-firing is a major cause of stained-glass perishing: Even the highest quality pigments and fluxes will fail to bond permanently to the glass if the work is not fired sufficiently.
- Fresh color fires better: Newly ground pigment fires more effectively and “fires away” less than stale pigment because of the interaction between the glass and carbonic acid in the air.
- Every different glass behaves differently in the kiln: Glass-painters learn through experience how each glass will react to heat and how to achieve the desired results.
- The old-fashioned diamond cutter is still favored in England: Despite the availability of newer tools, many English glass-cutters prefer the traditional diamond cutter, believing its wheels to be of higher quality.
- The English working-man is known for his wastefulness: Whall points out that English glass-cutters often waste a significant amount of material, which he considers a national characteristic.
- The value of cullet (waste glass) is significantly less than that of the original glass: Cullet is worth £1 per ton, while the same glass on the bench can be worth much more depending on the type and color, ranging from £56 to £280 per ton.
- The most expensive part of stained-glass work is often the material, not labor: In many cases, the cost of the glass is comparable to or even greater than the cost of the time spent cutting and preparing it.
- Stained glass is a craft where the lead line is a prominent feature: Unlike other forms of painting where lead lines are often minimized, they are an integral part of stained glass and should be embraced as a design element.
- The ancient Egyptians made glass: The use of glass in stained glass dates back to ancient Egypt.
- The ideal easel is one that can be easily raised and lowered: Whall advocates for a more efficient easel design, one that can be adjusted to any height, allowing the artist to see their work from various distances.
- The color scheme of a stained glass window should be created using actual glass samples: Whall emphasizes the importance of working directly with glass samples to create color harmonies, rather than relying solely on memory or theoretical knowledge.
- Nature is a constant source of inspiration for color combinations: Whall encourages artists to observe natural phenomena like flowers, butterflies, birds, shells, and sunsets to develop their color sense.
- The use of yellow stain can easily be overdone: Whall cautions against overusing yellow stain, especially on greenish-white glass, which can result in an undesirable “brassy” tone.
- Ancient glass was all painted: No school of stained glass has ever completely rejected the use of pigment.
- The use of yellow stain was traditionally limited to pure white glass: The stain would often take on a rosy hue when applied to pure white, which is a desirable effect that is difficult to replicate on other types of glass.
- The design of a stained-glass window should begin with a well-defined scheme of main colors: The artist then builds upon this base with smaller, more subtle variations in color to create a rich and nuanced harmony.
- The kaleidoscope can be a valuable tool for exploring color harmonies: This seemingly simple toy allows the artist to quickly experiment with different color combinations and proportions, helping them to make informed decisions.
- The use of old glass in restoration can sometimes be preferable to new glass: Whall acknowledges the unique qualities of old glass and suggests that, in some cases, it may be more appropriate to use existing pieces than to create new ones.
- The true artist is constantly striving to improve and pushing their limits: Whall draws upon numerous examples of great artists across different disciplines to illustrate this point, highlighting their willingness to question their own work, experiment, and strive for perfection.
Statistics:
- A ton of antique white glass is worth £56.
- A ton of high-quality blue or ruby glass is worth £140.
- A ton of the most expensive stained glasses (like gold-pink) is worth £280.
- The amount of waste glass in stained-glass work can be as high as two-thirds of the total material used.
- An average cutter takes two to three hours to cut one square foot of stained-glass work.
- An average kiln-man can lift an iron plate loaded with glass, weighing approximately forty pounds, using a fork-like tool.
- A single “shot” at stippling a head after firing takes approximately five minutes.
- A panel of glass weighing over one hundredweight can be easily lifted with a properly designed easel.
- The average “tie” used for banding is about four inches long.
- The average section of glass for large windows should not exceed four feet in height.
- The price of antique glasses varies from 1s. per foot to 5s. per foot.
- The weight per foot of stained-glass is approximately 32 oz.
Terms:
- Antiques: Colored glasses that imitate the characteristics of ancient glass.
- Banding: The process of securing stained-glass panels to supporting bars using copper ties.
- Base: The clear, light-tinted glass that forms the foundation for “flashed” glass.
- Borrowed light: Light that is not direct sunlight but comes from an interior source.
- Calm: The long strip of lead used for leading up the glass.
- Canopy: The architectural framing around a figure in a stained-glass window.
- Cartoon: The full-size drawing of a stained-glass window on paper.
- Core: The crossbar of the “H” section of lead used in stained glass.
- Cullet: Waste cuttings of glass, often reused in the production of new glass.
- Cut-line: The tracing of the lead lines on a sheet of paper used to guide the cutting of glass.
- Flux: A material that helps the metallic pigments melt during the firing process.
- Form: The sheet of paper used to prepare a full-size cartoon for a stained-glass window.
- Gauge: A shaped piece of paper used to guide the diamond or wheel-cutter.
- Grisaille: A type of stained glass where a pattern is superimposed on a background of pale glass.
- Groseing: The process of carefully shaping glass edges using pliers to ensure a perfect fit.
- Lathykin: A tool made of wood used to open up lead strips for leading.
- Lasting-nails: Special nails used to hold glass in place during the leading process.
- Leaf: The two vertical sides of the “H” section of lead used in stained glass.
- Muller: A flat piece of granite or glass used for grinding pigments.
- Obtuse: An angle wider than a right angle.
- Orphreys: Bands of ornamental embroidery on ecclesiastical vestments.
- Patina: The natural or artificial film that forms on glass or other materials, often adding a unique patina of age.
- Plating: Doubling one piece of glass over another within the same lead.
- Quarries: The diamond, square, or other shaped panes used in plain glazing.
- Reamy: A type of glass characterized by wavy or streaky patterns.
- Scratch-card: A wire brush used to remove tarnish from lead before soldering.
- Setting: The process of securing a charcoal or chalk drawing on paper using fixative spray.
- Shafting: The vertical supports used in “canopy work” to frame a figure.
- Shooting: The process of planing a surface to create a perfectly straight edge.
- Squaring-out: The process of enlarging or reducing a design by drawing across proportional squares.
- Stippling: A painting technique that creates a textured effect using tiny dots of pigment.
- Stopping-knife: The knife used for manipulating glass and lead during the leading process.
- Tabernacle work: An architectural framing resembling a niche used to frame a figure in a stained-glass window.
- Template: A paper, card, wood, or zinc form used to transfer shapes onto the cartoon.
Examples:
- The Garter Plates at Windsor Castle: These provide excellent examples of bold outline work and are ideal for practicing this technique in stained glass.
- Botticelli’s drawings and paintings: The flatness and firmness of his style are well-suited for stained glass and provide excellent models for drawing heads and hands.
- Burne-Jones’ cartoons for stained glass: These offer excellent examples of drapery and composition for stained-glass work.
- The “Five Sisters” window at York Minster: This masterpiece of thirteenth-century grisaille work showcases intricate patterns and delicate shading.
- The “Eve” window at Fairford: This window features a striking example of a cold, sharp green, like that of a parsley leaf.
- The east window of Gloucester Cathedral: This window showcases a beautiful interplay of blue and red, illustrating the possibilities of those colors in stained glass.
- The west door of St. Maclou at Rouen: This doorway features an unusual design where angels falling from the tympanum break through the lintel, demonstrating the potential for creative exceptions in stained glass.
- The “Adam and Eve” window at Fairford: This window features a striking example of green glass, inspired by the color of oak leaves.
- The south nave windows of York Minster: These provide an example of how every piece of glass in a stained glass window can be an exception, creating a complex and dynamic overall effect.
- Millais’ painting “Asleep”: This painting illustrates the power of a single splash of color, demonstrating how a small but well-placed detail can create a striking visual impact.
Conclusion:
Christopher Whall’s “Stained Glass Work” is a timeless guide to this exquisite craft. This text-book offers not only practical instructions on technical processes, but also insightful reflections on the artistic principles, historical context, and philosophical underpinnings of stained glass. Whall’s insistence on a holistic approach, where the artist is involved in every step of the process and strives for perfection in every detail, resonates with the values of the Arts & Crafts Movement and remains relevant today. By emphasizing the importance of craftsmanship, artistic integrity, and a deep appreciation for the material, Whall empowers students to embrace the challenges and rewards of this remarkable art form.