BEAUTY IN STAINED GLASS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 428, 5 September 1947, Page 18

BEAUTY IN STAINED GLASS

] T is sometimes helpful in a crisis to turn to subjects as remote as possible from those that are troubling us. So we turn the minds of our readers in this issue to the making of stained glass windows in Canada. Though the population of Canada is 11%. millions, and the number of people at work on stained glass windows is "hardly more than one hundred,’ it is a relief to find a-hundred people anywhere this week who are not worrying about dollars and whose enthusiasm will not be damped whether the world remains one exchange area or breaks into two. For the photographs accompanying the notes we are indebted to the office of the High Commissioner for Canada

| ABRICATION of _ stained glass windows had been practised in Europe for almost five centuries when Samuel de Champlain. brought the first European settlers to Canada in 1603. In suc-

as ceeding centuries this craft was among: the many Old-World skills transferred to North America, and in Canada it continues to-day as a small but important profession. Used almost exclusively in churches, stained glass windows are defined as translucent mosaics held together by strips of lead. The technique as practised when the art first came to its perfection in the 12th Century is not greatly different from that employed to-day by Canadian artisans. In olden times, of course, procedures were cagefully guarded and there were secret processes which no craftsman would dare reveal. Now the supplies of col-

oured glass are obtained from commercial manufacturers, and everything involved is readily manifest except the inherent talent required by the craftsmen in transforming fragments of glass and soft lead into exquisite adornments. Scarcely more than 100 people in Canada now work at this ancient trade, (continued on page 20)

ANCIENT CRAFT

(continued from page 18) but their services are in great demand. The stages in producing a stained glass window as detailed here were witnessed in the studios of William Meikle and Son in Toronto, Canada. In designing a stained glass windaw, the first step is the painting of a water

colour sketch, It accurately reveals the design, colours and proportions of the finished window, and gives the client an indication of how the final product will appear. After the. sketch has been approved, a large black-and-white drawing is made. Known as a "cartoon," this is drawn to the same size as the finished window. On it are marked the. shapes into which the glass will have to be cut, as well as the shading in garments, drapery, flesh tinting and other details. It also marks the window off into sections for handling and installation, only very small windows being made into one piece. With the cartoon as a guide, the craftsman cuts out paper patterns, which are placed on the glass sheets in cutting out the numerous small pieces needed. An ordinary glass-cutting tool is employed. Available to the workman is: a rack with a large selection of glass,: varying in shades and colours. In choosing glass for any part he must consider the surrounding colours, the amount and direction of light that will fall on the window, and how he wants each piece to appear in the finished work. The glass is bought in small squares, but like the glass of centuries past, is of varying thickness, and has certain imperfections which make it sparkle and add to the richness of the window. One supplier to-day lists over 300 shades. Ruby is the most expensive ‘because the colour is "flashed" on the -glass-that is, it rests on the surface of othe glass only. Although some are left plain, many of the pieces then must have parts of the (continued on next page)

(continued from previous page) window's design painted on them. Human figures, the landscape and objects in the scene, as well as such details as folds in drapery, flowers and animals, are portrayed in paint on the inside surfaces. In undertaking this exacting task, the craftsman places the glass pieces over the cartoon and paints with a fine brush and special pigments. One .of the most skilful jobs is the making of the flesh parts, i.e., heads, hands and feet. Except in an extremely big window the head is normally on a single piece of glass. .It is propped up and a light is shone through to help the artist make it lifelike. It is traditional for certain colours to be used for religious figures. Christ, for example, is usually garbed in ruby robes and the Virgin Mary in blue. It is thus possible to recognise major figures even in less conventional designs, some of which show Christ without a beard.