ARTICLES
This is our Article Page. It will cover every imaginable art/craft topic. There will be articles on artists/crafters, descriptions and photos of their art, etc... Stop by often to see what's new. This will be an informative page, with tons of talent on display. If you have any article ideas please feel free to email them to me.
email: Jewels-Designs@gmx.com
The New Graffiti
3D Graffiti, whether it's in chalk or paint, on walls or the street, represents a new way of combining the mastery of Renaissance art techniques with the gritty, ephemeral qualities of amazing street art. These 3D street artists gives graffiti a whole new meaning, one that departs from the conventional interpretation of graffiti as vandalism in the form of images and letters scrawled on public property. Artists like Kurt Wenner, Eduardo Relero and Tracy Lee Shun create street art that is so incredible it is almost impossible to pass by without being sucked in to the worlds they create on asphalt and concrete surfaces.
JULIAN BEEVER- World-renowed sidewalk chalk drawings have been a viral hit all over internet, and it's easy to see why: a master of the anamorphic technique, which he's been perfecting since the mid 1990's. Each of Julians creations typically take a full day to complete, and by the next day they're just a memory, washed away by rain or walked upon by pedestrians. The English artist has been given the nickname, The Pavement Picasso, and he continues to work all over the world.
EDGAR MULLER & MANFRED STADER- are a German team of street painters. Much of their work is in 3D anamorphic style, but both of them often create traditional street paintings in a style that mimics the detail and realism of the Renaissance and Barague periods. Their background in realism gives them an incredible advantage as anamorphic street painters, as evidenced in their work and the paintings they do. Stader and Muller have won many street painting competitions, and have taught street painting at universities.
TRACY LEE SHUM- Is widely considered to be one of todays finest street painters. She has traveled the world to be a featured artist in many festivals and events, and she currently holds the Guinness World Record for the largest street painting by an individual, which she completed in 2006. Tracys work contains many themes, from Biblical to exotic to mundane.
EDUARDO ROLERO- Is a street painter artist working primarily in Spain. His fanciful illustrative style looks like storybook pages come to life, and indeed each of his anamorphic sidewalk chalk drawings seems to have a story behind it.
ROD TRYON- Has been adorning the streets of the world with his chalk drawings for more than 20 years, and was first inspired to try anamorphic designs in 1996. Of his paintings, Rod says " Entertaining the audience by creating an image that looks like it is coming up out of the street, or the impression of a whole opening up in the asphalt in front of you, is a specail treat for the artist". Seeing the crowds react to his 3D pastel images, brings great joy to both the artist and onlookers.
KURT WENNER- Ability to transform Renaissance classicism into 3D street art is unparalleled and has made him the top anamorphic street painting artist of our time. Kurt aims to reinvent classism for a new age, bringing his talent for realism to the streets, literally, having invented a picturial geometry that corrects the specific distortion caused by viewing his street paintings at an oblique angle. A former NASA illustrator, Kurt has had his work featured in a lemgthy list of articles, television features, ads, and documentaries.
Tapestry
Tapestries can be both art and literature, in the form of woven textiles. Contemporary wall tapestries are usually woven on jacquard looms and can utilize between work in concert to achieve a broad range of colors on the face of the tapestry. Tapestries have texture not found in any form. The combination of the thread colors and weaves create a unique art experience that changes with each variety. In tapestry weft yarns are typically discontinuous; the artisian interlaces each colored weft back and forth in its own small pattern area.
Most weavers use a naturally based warp thread such as linen or cotton. The weft threads are usually wool or cotton, but may include silk, gold, silver, or other alternatives.
Tapestries have always served a multitude of functions, from decorative art, to story-telling, to acoustic and insulation properties that made the hanging of the woven fabric on the walls a way of making a space warmer.
Another advantage of tapestries have always possessed has been their portability.
Le Cortusier once called tapestries "nomadic murals" because noble folk could easiily roll up their artwork and transport them from place to place, or could pull out special tapestries for display only on special occasions. This tradition continues, even today, which is attested to by the popularity of holiday-themed tapestries.
Tapestries have been around for centuries (samples dating back from the third century, B.C., have been found in the Tarim Basin), however Tapestries did not reach their true potential as a sought-after artform until the early 14th century. Originally being crafted in Germany and Switzerland, the tradition spread over time, to France and the Netherlands.
In the 14th and 15th centuries, Arras, France was a thriving textile town. At that time industry was based on quality wool tapestries which were sold exclusively to decorate palaces and castles across Europe. Owning a tapestry was considered by amny to be a status symbol.
After the French Revolution, the centre of excellence for tapestry making shifted to Flanders, the town of Oudenaarde, Brussels, Geraardsbergen and Enghein. By the 17th century Flemish tapestries were considered to be the most important production because of the intricate details in both pattern and color.
In the 19th century, through the now famous William Morris, the art of tapestry weaving was reborn. Morris and Company apecialized in a series of tapestries for home and ecclesiastical uses.
The 20th , now 21st century tapestry is created with a mix of past and present art.
Tapestry Wall Hangings have experienced a rebirth in the 21st century, as many homeowners are looking at them an an alternative to wall decor options, including gothic wall hangings. French Baroque and William Morris' works to contempory tapestries that bring the ancient art form into their modern lifestyle.
For some, the main appeal of trditional tapestries is their connection with history, a retelling of the story behind the artwork.... The combination of art and history can be irresistible to art lovers who are looking for more depth in their home decor choices.
Reproductions of these famous, traditional tapestries are proving very popular with today's art lover. These tapestries recreations capture the drama of historical art, perfectly blending it with modern weaving methods. The end result is often very faithful to the original.
Traditional tapestry designs often surprise contemporary art lovers with their attention to detail, their ability to capture emotion and their exploration of timeless themes suchas love and romance.
Others are looking at the capability of the art form to produce stunning contemporary tapestries that put a new spin on an ancient artform.
Combining bold colors and striking designs with the ancient artform of tapestry weaving produces artworks like nothing seen before. These contemorary tapestry wall hangings showcase the tactile advantages of tapestry wall hangings, whike providing a contemporary visual appeal.
Recently artist have begun licensing their works for recreation as a tapestry wall hanging, including such artists as Natasha Wescot, Max Hayslette, Nancy O'Tool and Will Refuse.
Florals and landscapes and cityscapes are strong themes in today's contemporary fine art tapestries, while others are created to provide unique theme, such as playing card, biliards and fashion.
The term tapestry is also used to describe weft-faced textiles made on Jacquard looms. Until the 1900's, tapestry upholstery fabrics and reproductions of the famous tapestries of the Middle Ages were the most well-known produces of Jacquard looms. However, since the resurgence of the tapestry market, and the growth of various styles of tapestry wall hangings, pillow and throws, tapestries have re-entered the world of fine art do to a revival of the computerized Jacquard process.
Typically, tapestries are translated from the original via a process resembling paint-by-numbers: a cartoon is divided into regions, each of which is assigned a solid color based on a standard palette. However in Jacquard weaving, the repeating series of multicolored warp and waft threads can be used to create colors that are optically blended. The human eye apprehends the threads' combination of values as a single color. This method can be likened to pointillism, a style of painting in which tiny dots or points placed in close proximity are optically blended as described above.
Most weavers use a naturally based warp thread such as linen or cotton. The weft threads are usually wool or cotton, but may include silk, gold, silver, or other alternatives.
Tapestries have always served a multitude of functions, from decorative art, to story-telling, to acoustic and insulation properties that made the hanging of the woven fabric on the walls a way of making a space warmer.
Another advantage of tapestries have always possessed has been their portability.
Le Cortusier once called tapestries "nomadic murals" because noble folk could easiily roll up their artwork and transport them from place to place, or could pull out special tapestries for display only on special occasions. This tradition continues, even today, which is attested to by the popularity of holiday-themed tapestries.
Tapestries have been around for centuries (samples dating back from the third century, B.C., have been found in the Tarim Basin), however Tapestries did not reach their true potential as a sought-after artform until the early 14th century. Originally being crafted in Germany and Switzerland, the tradition spread over time, to France and the Netherlands.
In the 14th and 15th centuries, Arras, France was a thriving textile town. At that time industry was based on quality wool tapestries which were sold exclusively to decorate palaces and castles across Europe. Owning a tapestry was considered by amny to be a status symbol.
After the French Revolution, the centre of excellence for tapestry making shifted to Flanders, the town of Oudenaarde, Brussels, Geraardsbergen and Enghein. By the 17th century Flemish tapestries were considered to be the most important production because of the intricate details in both pattern and color.
In the 19th century, through the now famous William Morris, the art of tapestry weaving was reborn. Morris and Company apecialized in a series of tapestries for home and ecclesiastical uses.
The 20th , now 21st century tapestry is created with a mix of past and present art.
Tapestry Wall Hangings have experienced a rebirth in the 21st century, as many homeowners are looking at them an an alternative to wall decor options, including gothic wall hangings. French Baroque and William Morris' works to contempory tapestries that bring the ancient art form into their modern lifestyle.
For some, the main appeal of trditional tapestries is their connection with history, a retelling of the story behind the artwork.... The combination of art and history can be irresistible to art lovers who are looking for more depth in their home decor choices.
Reproductions of these famous, traditional tapestries are proving very popular with today's art lover. These tapestries recreations capture the drama of historical art, perfectly blending it with modern weaving methods. The end result is often very faithful to the original.
Traditional tapestry designs often surprise contemporary art lovers with their attention to detail, their ability to capture emotion and their exploration of timeless themes suchas love and romance.
Others are looking at the capability of the art form to produce stunning contemporary tapestries that put a new spin on an ancient artform.
Combining bold colors and striking designs with the ancient artform of tapestry weaving produces artworks like nothing seen before. These contemorary tapestry wall hangings showcase the tactile advantages of tapestry wall hangings, whike providing a contemporary visual appeal.
Recently artist have begun licensing their works for recreation as a tapestry wall hanging, including such artists as Natasha Wescot, Max Hayslette, Nancy O'Tool and Will Refuse.
Florals and landscapes and cityscapes are strong themes in today's contemporary fine art tapestries, while others are created to provide unique theme, such as playing card, biliards and fashion.
The term tapestry is also used to describe weft-faced textiles made on Jacquard looms. Until the 1900's, tapestry upholstery fabrics and reproductions of the famous tapestries of the Middle Ages were the most well-known produces of Jacquard looms. However, since the resurgence of the tapestry market, and the growth of various styles of tapestry wall hangings, pillow and throws, tapestries have re-entered the world of fine art do to a revival of the computerized Jacquard process.
Typically, tapestries are translated from the original via a process resembling paint-by-numbers: a cartoon is divided into regions, each of which is assigned a solid color based on a standard palette. However in Jacquard weaving, the repeating series of multicolored warp and waft threads can be used to create colors that are optically blended. The human eye apprehends the threads' combination of values as a single color. This method can be likened to pointillism, a style of painting in which tiny dots or points placed in close proximity are optically blended as described above.
How To Make A Three-Dimensional Tapestry
Use a variety of yarns to create this outdoor-themed wall hanging.
Materials & Tools:
~Yarns (chenille, cotton, wool, acrylic, nylon, silk, linen)
~Feathers
~Fake evergreen bows
~Ribbon, Beads, rocks, fleece
~Glycerol soap
~Thin plastic mesh
~1"x 2" wood
~wood screws and screwdriver
~3/4" nails
~L-brackets
~Floral wire
~Chopstick
~Wooden frame
~Gluegun
~Wooden frame
~2 alligator clips
~Felting needle
~Scissors
~Plastic hair pick comb
~Power drill
Steps:
1. Build a loom to the desired sixe by using four pieces of 1"x 2" wood secured at the corners with L-brackets and screws. Nail 3/4" nails close together across the top and bottom of the loom.
2. Warp the loom by knotting cotton yarn on the top left nail, threading it to the bottom, around two nails, up to the top, around two nails and back down untill the other end of the loom is reached. Knot the yarn at the end.
3. Tabby-weave the walking path using several strands of textured yarn in neutral colors.
4. Knot and weave the ground plants.
5. Soumak-weave and tabby-weave the leaf canopy.
6. Wet felt the tree trunks.
7. Attach tree trunks and branches to the weaving using needle felting.
8. Drill a small hole in each rock using a power drill. Attach the rocks and sticks along the path by tying them onto the weaving using floral wire.
9. Release the weaving from the loom by pulling the threads off the nails.
10. Stretch out the weaving into the wooden display frame using junk-yarn tied to the top, bottom and sides of the frame.
11. Needle felt edges of the weaving.
12. Stitch the "After the Rain" weaving onto the frame using reeled silk.
13. Cut off the junk-yarn and attach alligator clip hangers to hand your "After the Rain" wall tapestry.
Materials & Tools:
~Yarns (chenille, cotton, wool, acrylic, nylon, silk, linen)
~Feathers
~Fake evergreen bows
~Ribbon, Beads, rocks, fleece
~Glycerol soap
~Thin plastic mesh
~1"x 2" wood
~wood screws and screwdriver
~3/4" nails
~L-brackets
~Floral wire
~Chopstick
~Wooden frame
~Gluegun
~Wooden frame
~2 alligator clips
~Felting needle
~Scissors
~Plastic hair pick comb
~Power drill
Steps:
1. Build a loom to the desired sixe by using four pieces of 1"x 2" wood secured at the corners with L-brackets and screws. Nail 3/4" nails close together across the top and bottom of the loom.
2. Warp the loom by knotting cotton yarn on the top left nail, threading it to the bottom, around two nails, up to the top, around two nails and back down untill the other end of the loom is reached. Knot the yarn at the end.
3. Tabby-weave the walking path using several strands of textured yarn in neutral colors.
4. Knot and weave the ground plants.
5. Soumak-weave and tabby-weave the leaf canopy.
6. Wet felt the tree trunks.
7. Attach tree trunks and branches to the weaving using needle felting.
8. Drill a small hole in each rock using a power drill. Attach the rocks and sticks along the path by tying them onto the weaving using floral wire.
9. Release the weaving from the loom by pulling the threads off the nails.
10. Stretch out the weaving into the wooden display frame using junk-yarn tied to the top, bottom and sides of the frame.
11. Needle felt edges of the weaving.
12. Stitch the "After the Rain" weaving onto the frame using reeled silk.
13. Cut off the junk-yarn and attach alligator clip hangers to hand your "After the Rain" wall tapestry.
Creator: Martina Celertin
Craquelure
Oil-based paint ages in a unique way, cracking in an irregular fashion. This sffect, whether from aging or replicating the aging process, is known as craquelure. It is one way of antiquing furniture and other surfaces, creating a time-worn look.
Crackle varnishes are available either in oil-based or water-based varnishes. Oil-based crackle varnishes are generally completely transparent and provide an authentic craquelure effect, but are difficult to find and to use. Water-based crackel glazes are available as transparent or poaque colored glazes. Oil-based crackle varnishes should not be used on walls, but can be used on wood and canvas.
When buying supplies for craquelure, you will often have the opportunity to buy the crackel varnish along with a special antiquing varnish that has a yellowish tinge. When using oil-based craquelure, antiquing varnish should be applied first, in an even layer with a stiff varnishing brush. After about an hour, apply the crackel varnish and let dry for about 45 minutes. If cracks do not appear by this time, a hairdryer should be used on a low setting, producing a pattern of fine cracks.
In very cold or extremely humid weather, crackel varnishes sometimes fail to crack. If this happens, clean the surface off with water and begin again. Otherwise, let both layers dry and reapply both the antiquing varnish and crackel varnish. If the second approach is taken, the craquelure effect which is in a very regular pattern, not always looking realistic.
Crackel varnishes are colorless, adding depth and texture, but not color. This can be changed by tinting the glaze. If tinting craquelure, use a wash of one part artist's oil pigment and four parts paint thinner. After the cracks appear, wipe the tint on with a clean rag and wipe off with a different rag, leaving color in the cracks.
Crackel glaze can be used in lieu of crackel varnish, fo an opaque effect. Opaque crackel glaze is water-based and is applied between two layers of water-based paint. This causes the top coat of paint to crack and expose the color underneath. Crackel glazes should not be applied over a design, but only over solid colors.
Crackle varnishes are available either in oil-based or water-based varnishes. Oil-based crackle varnishes are generally completely transparent and provide an authentic craquelure effect, but are difficult to find and to use. Water-based crackel glazes are available as transparent or poaque colored glazes. Oil-based crackle varnishes should not be used on walls, but can be used on wood and canvas.
When buying supplies for craquelure, you will often have the opportunity to buy the crackel varnish along with a special antiquing varnish that has a yellowish tinge. When using oil-based craquelure, antiquing varnish should be applied first, in an even layer with a stiff varnishing brush. After about an hour, apply the crackel varnish and let dry for about 45 minutes. If cracks do not appear by this time, a hairdryer should be used on a low setting, producing a pattern of fine cracks.
In very cold or extremely humid weather, crackel varnishes sometimes fail to crack. If this happens, clean the surface off with water and begin again. Otherwise, let both layers dry and reapply both the antiquing varnish and crackel varnish. If the second approach is taken, the craquelure effect which is in a very regular pattern, not always looking realistic.
Crackel varnishes are colorless, adding depth and texture, but not color. This can be changed by tinting the glaze. If tinting craquelure, use a wash of one part artist's oil pigment and four parts paint thinner. After the cracks appear, wipe the tint on with a clean rag and wipe off with a different rag, leaving color in the cracks.
Crackel glaze can be used in lieu of crackel varnish, fo an opaque effect. Opaque crackel glaze is water-based and is applied between two layers of water-based paint. This causes the top coat of paint to crack and expose the color underneath. Crackel glazes should not be applied over a design, but only over solid colors.
Bronwyn Harris
How to
Stained Glass
The origins of the first stained glass windows are lost in history. The technique probably came from jewelry making, cloisonne and mosaics. Stained glass windows as we know them, seemed to arise when suctantial chruch buildings began. By the 10th century, depictions of Christ and biblical scenes were found in French and German chruches and decorative designs found in England.
There is a mystery to glass: It is a form of matter with gas, liquid and solid state properties. Glass is most like a super-cooled liquid. It captures light and glows from within. It is a jewel like substance made from the most ordinary materials: sand transformed by fire. Before recorded hsitory, man learned to make glass and color it by adding metallic salts and oxides. These minerals within glass capture specific portions from the spectrum of white light allowing the human eye to see various colors. Gold produced stunning cranberry, cobalt makes blues; silver crates yellows and golds while copper makes greens and brick red.
Techniques of stained glass window construction were described by monk Theophilus who wrote a how to for craftsmen about 1100 AD.
The Gothic age produced the great cathedrals of Europe and brought a full flowering of stained glass windows. Chruches became taller and lighter, walls thinned and stained glass was used to fill the increasingly larger openings in them. Stained glass became the sun filled world outside. Abbot Suger of the Abby of St Denis rebuilt his chruch in what is one of the first examples of the Gothic style. He brought in craftsmen to make the glass and kept a journal of what was done. He tully believed that the presence of beautiful objects would lift men's souls to God.
Stained glass windows are often viewed as traslucent pictures. Gothic stained glass windows are a complex mosaic of bits of colored glass joined with lead into an intricate pattern illustrating biblical stories and saints lives. Viewed from the ground, they appear not as pictures but as a network of black lines and colored light Medievel man experienced a window more than he read it. It made the chruch that specail, sacred dwelling place of an all powerful God.
We see medieval craftsmen were more interested in illustrating and idea than creating natural or realistic images. Rich, jewel colors played off milky, dull neutrals. Paint work was often crude and unsophisticated: a dark brown enamel, called grisalle, was matted to the glass surface to delineate features, no to control the transmission of light.
In the 15th century, the apex of high Gothic, the way stained glass was viewed changed. It became more a picture and less an atmophere. Paler colors admitted more light and figures were larger, often filling the entire window. Paint work became more sophisticated, more like easel painting. The rediscovery of silver stain allowed the artist to realistically depict yellow hair and golden garments.
Stained glass artists became painters as the form became closer and closer to panel painting. Lead lines that were accepted as a necessary and decorative element became structural evils to be camouflaged by the design. The Renaissance brought the art of stained glass into a 300 year period where windows were white glass heavily painted. They lost all their previous glory and it seemed the original symbolism and innate beauty of stained glass was forgotten.
In this period, stained glass became a fashionable addition to residences, public buildings and chruches. Heraldic glass showing detailed shields and coats of arms on simple, transparent backgrounds was common. Much of what stained glass was became forgotten. The 18th century saw the removal of amny medieval stained glass windows. They were destroyed as hoplessly old fashioned and replaced by painted glass.
England in the mid 1800's saw a rivial of interest in Gothic architecture. Several amateur art historians and scientists rediscovered the medieval glass techniques. Pieces of glass were tested and their color secrets unlocked.
Glass studios in England made versions of medieval windows for Gothic Revival buildings. The Bolton Brothers, English immigrants, established one of the first stained gless windows in America. These Gothic style windows enhanced chruches and simple ornamental windows and painted figural windows were the norm until the development of a distinctive American style.
John LaFarge and Louis Comfort Tiffany were two American painters who began experimenting with glass. Contemporaries, but working independently, they were trying to develop glass that possessed a wide range of visual effects without painting. They soon became competitors. LaFarge developed and cpyrighted opalescent glass in 1879. Tiffany popularized it and his name became synonymous with opalescent glass and the American glass movement. LaFarge and Tiffany used intricate cuts and richly colored glasses within in detailed, flowing designs. Plating, or layering glass layers, achievin depth and texture. Both made windows for private homes as well as chruches.
The process of using thin strips of copper as a substitute for lead became allowed for intricate sections within windows. Tiffany adapted the technique to construct lampshades and capitalized on the new innovation of electric lighting. Tiffany's customers were wealthy, turn of the century families including the Vanderbilt's and Astors. The Tiffany style prompted many imitators and opalescent windows and shades remained popular through the turn of the century.
Tastes changed after WWI. A revival of archeological accuracy in architecture called for new Gothic glass windows for the NeoGothic chruches. LaFarge had died in 1910, interest inopalescent glass waned and Tiffany remained its last defendant until his death in 1933 and the subsequent bankruptcy of his studios. New craftsmen such as William Willet, Rambusch, Charles Connick and Nicolai D'Ascenzo, made windows for chruches across America.
Except for chruch windows, stained glass remained in decline until the post WWII era. The abstract and expressionist movement in painting influenced a new group of arists to explore artistic expression in the medium of glass.
Contemporary chruch windows may in some ways be closer to those of the early Gothic period. Not easy to identify scenes, they again create a pure atmosphere of light and colr, inspiring a contemplative attitude through the transformation of the ordinary into the mystical.
Stained glass, or more appropriate art glass, is all around us today. An explosion of interest in the last 30 years has given rise to many new and imaginative forms of this art. The rise of individual artist, new technologies and growing interest in stained glass as a hobby craft have all lead to what is being called a new golden age in glass. New homes are frequently embellished with spectacular beveled glass entryways, stained glass bathroom windows and Tiffany style lampshades. Decorative panels are purchased just to hang in a sunny window. Marvelous hot formed glass pieces adorn tables, walls, shelves and fill windows. New artists are combining, creating and developing unique new forms and styles every day.
There is a mystery to glass: It is a form of matter with gas, liquid and solid state properties. Glass is most like a super-cooled liquid. It captures light and glows from within. It is a jewel like substance made from the most ordinary materials: sand transformed by fire. Before recorded hsitory, man learned to make glass and color it by adding metallic salts and oxides. These minerals within glass capture specific portions from the spectrum of white light allowing the human eye to see various colors. Gold produced stunning cranberry, cobalt makes blues; silver crates yellows and golds while copper makes greens and brick red.
Techniques of stained glass window construction were described by monk Theophilus who wrote a how to for craftsmen about 1100 AD.
The Gothic age produced the great cathedrals of Europe and brought a full flowering of stained glass windows. Chruches became taller and lighter, walls thinned and stained glass was used to fill the increasingly larger openings in them. Stained glass became the sun filled world outside. Abbot Suger of the Abby of St Denis rebuilt his chruch in what is one of the first examples of the Gothic style. He brought in craftsmen to make the glass and kept a journal of what was done. He tully believed that the presence of beautiful objects would lift men's souls to God.
Stained glass windows are often viewed as traslucent pictures. Gothic stained glass windows are a complex mosaic of bits of colored glass joined with lead into an intricate pattern illustrating biblical stories and saints lives. Viewed from the ground, they appear not as pictures but as a network of black lines and colored light Medievel man experienced a window more than he read it. It made the chruch that specail, sacred dwelling place of an all powerful God.
We see medieval craftsmen were more interested in illustrating and idea than creating natural or realistic images. Rich, jewel colors played off milky, dull neutrals. Paint work was often crude and unsophisticated: a dark brown enamel, called grisalle, was matted to the glass surface to delineate features, no to control the transmission of light.
In the 15th century, the apex of high Gothic, the way stained glass was viewed changed. It became more a picture and less an atmophere. Paler colors admitted more light and figures were larger, often filling the entire window. Paint work became more sophisticated, more like easel painting. The rediscovery of silver stain allowed the artist to realistically depict yellow hair and golden garments.
Stained glass artists became painters as the form became closer and closer to panel painting. Lead lines that were accepted as a necessary and decorative element became structural evils to be camouflaged by the design. The Renaissance brought the art of stained glass into a 300 year period where windows were white glass heavily painted. They lost all their previous glory and it seemed the original symbolism and innate beauty of stained glass was forgotten.
In this period, stained glass became a fashionable addition to residences, public buildings and chruches. Heraldic glass showing detailed shields and coats of arms on simple, transparent backgrounds was common. Much of what stained glass was became forgotten. The 18th century saw the removal of amny medieval stained glass windows. They were destroyed as hoplessly old fashioned and replaced by painted glass.
England in the mid 1800's saw a rivial of interest in Gothic architecture. Several amateur art historians and scientists rediscovered the medieval glass techniques. Pieces of glass were tested and their color secrets unlocked.
Glass studios in England made versions of medieval windows for Gothic Revival buildings. The Bolton Brothers, English immigrants, established one of the first stained gless windows in America. These Gothic style windows enhanced chruches and simple ornamental windows and painted figural windows were the norm until the development of a distinctive American style.
John LaFarge and Louis Comfort Tiffany were two American painters who began experimenting with glass. Contemporaries, but working independently, they were trying to develop glass that possessed a wide range of visual effects without painting. They soon became competitors. LaFarge developed and cpyrighted opalescent glass in 1879. Tiffany popularized it and his name became synonymous with opalescent glass and the American glass movement. LaFarge and Tiffany used intricate cuts and richly colored glasses within in detailed, flowing designs. Plating, or layering glass layers, achievin depth and texture. Both made windows for private homes as well as chruches.
The process of using thin strips of copper as a substitute for lead became allowed for intricate sections within windows. Tiffany adapted the technique to construct lampshades and capitalized on the new innovation of electric lighting. Tiffany's customers were wealthy, turn of the century families including the Vanderbilt's and Astors. The Tiffany style prompted many imitators and opalescent windows and shades remained popular through the turn of the century.
Tastes changed after WWI. A revival of archeological accuracy in architecture called for new Gothic glass windows for the NeoGothic chruches. LaFarge had died in 1910, interest inopalescent glass waned and Tiffany remained its last defendant until his death in 1933 and the subsequent bankruptcy of his studios. New craftsmen such as William Willet, Rambusch, Charles Connick and Nicolai D'Ascenzo, made windows for chruches across America.
Except for chruch windows, stained glass remained in decline until the post WWII era. The abstract and expressionist movement in painting influenced a new group of arists to explore artistic expression in the medium of glass.
Contemporary chruch windows may in some ways be closer to those of the early Gothic period. Not easy to identify scenes, they again create a pure atmosphere of light and colr, inspiring a contemplative attitude through the transformation of the ordinary into the mystical.
Stained glass, or more appropriate art glass, is all around us today. An explosion of interest in the last 30 years has given rise to many new and imaginative forms of this art. The rise of individual artist, new technologies and growing interest in stained glass as a hobby craft have all lead to what is being called a new golden age in glass. New homes are frequently embellished with spectacular beveled glass entryways, stained glass bathroom windows and Tiffany style lampshades. Decorative panels are purchased just to hang in a sunny window. Marvelous hot formed glass pieces adorn tables, walls, shelves and fill windows. New artists are combining, creating and developing unique new forms and styles every day.