Home About Writers Categories Recent Issues Subscribe Contact File Transfer





Bob Crager
Bob Crager of Lewis Street Glass is a 26 year veteran in the glass business. Lewis Street Glass is a leading Wichita Glass company, serving the entire Wichita/Sedgwick County area since 1919. They do anything and everything having to do with glass, both residential and commercial. They also do Auto glass. They are located at 743 South Market, facing Kellogg on the South, and you can reach them by phone at (316) 263-8259. You can email Bob Crager at bcrager@lewisstreetglass.com
Glass
2007-02-01 14:25:00
Is there modern stained glass?
ANSWER: Last month we visited about stained glass, and its uses in homes and/or commercial buildings such as churches. In these earlier periods of time, stained glass became a fashionable addition to residences , public buildings and churches. Heraldic glass showing detailed shields and coats of arms on simple, transparent backgrounds, was becoming common. Much of what stained glass was earlier became forgotten. The 18th century saw the removal of many medieval stained glass windows, which were destroyed as hopelessly old fashioned, and replaced by painted glass. England, in the mid 1800’s, saw a revival 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 were unlocked. Glass studios in England made their versions of medieval windows for Gothic Revival buildings. The Bolton Brothers, English immigrants, established one of the first stained glass studios in America. These Gothic style windows enhanced churches, 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 products. These men were contemporaries, but working independently, they were trying to develop glass that possessed a wide range of visual effects, but without painting it. They soon became competitors. LaFarge developed and copyrighted 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 detailed, flowing designs. Plating, or layering glass, achieved depth and texture. Both made windows for private homes as well as churches. The process of using thin strips of copper as a substitute for lead allowed for intricate sections within windows. Tiffany adapted the technique to construct lampshades, and capitalized on the brand new innovation: electric lighting. Tiffany’s customers were the wealthy, turn-of-the-century families, including the Vanderbilts' and Astors. The Tiffany style prompted many imitators, and opalescent windows and shades remained popular through the turn of the next century. Tastes changed after WWI, and a revival of archeological accuracy in architecture called for new gothic glass windows for the NeoGothic churches. When LaFarge died in 1910, interest in opalescent 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 churches all across the American continent. Except for church windows, stained glass remained in decline until the post WWII era. The abstract and expressionist movement in painting influenced a new group of artists to explore artistic expression in the medium of glass. Contemporary church 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 color, inspiring a contemplative attitude through the transformation of the ordinary into the mystical. Stained glass, or more appropriately, 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 the individual artist, new technologies and the 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. See your local glass dealer for answers to your window or glass questions. Some of the information was researched from the worldwide web...More next month…
 
The Q & A Times Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs.Materials will not be returned unless accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Thank you.
 
Wildcard SSL Certificates