Stained Glass
An Art of Impassioned Crystallization By Sarah Hall
Artist’s Statement
What is it that leads people to become artists? I believe it is not a matter of choice, but of necessity. I know that I have never considered being anything else.
As a stained-glass artist, I live and work with light. The artwork I do is almost exclusively architectural; every project has its genesis in the practical essentials of light, architecture, interior and exterior environment. But beyond that, each window is a channel of colour and light that seeks a poetic relationship with the architecture and expresses the community in an intuitive, meaningful new way.
Art can open doors, illuminate the possible, and forge a connection with the spiritual. The challenge of my art is to create works that people will respond to, without relying on familiar imagery. The reward of my art is to create windows that point to and connect to something beyond themselves. These are the windows I want to create.
Installations
The following recent installations will serve to illuminate the intent and themes of my work and show new techniques.
Project:
Ten Windows; 2002 (Nine windows 8 ft. x 3 ft.; One window 8 ft. x 5 ft.). Location: Gathering Space; St John of the Cross Catholic Community, Mississauga, Ontario.
Concept:
My aim at St. John of the Cross was to create windows that give a contemplative and quiet, mystical feeling to the small, circular gathering space.
The gathering space is intimate, and it is used for a variety of purposes, from educational programs to personal reflection; from funeral services to preparation for marriage. I wanted to create light-filled windows that possessed a high level of delicacy and serenity - a visual evocation of mysticism.
The 10 windows provided a wonderful setting for a series of works devoted to the history and spirituality of the Carmelites. This religious order produced the great mystics of 15th-century Spain: St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross. The extraordinary poetry and prose of these two mystics inspired me to consider using text in all of the windows, based on the actual writings of the saint to whom each window is dedicated. I chose many of the texts based on their use of metaphors for light. Of the 10 windows, 4 are figurative and 6 are symbolically related to the subject's life. The figurative windows are as "symbolic" as the others owing to the highly abstracted and stylized quality of the figure drawing. Their heavier visual weight, however, provided "anchors" at four corners of the room, thus allowing the other windows to float more freely in the space.
Technique:
Each window is composed of three sections, and each section has two layers of glass. The first layer is a combination of air-brushed and hand-painted enamels, along with four-stage sandblasting on the back surface. This sandblasting achieves a layering of translucence that gives considerable added depth. The second (top) layer is painted and fired in traditional vitreous black paint The painting style is open and "fragmentary." The paint was brushed through before firing to achieve a softened effect, whim allows the enamel colour underneath to shine through the images. The text was transferred to vinyl and sandblasted into the fired enamel. Photo screens were used in three windows. In two of these (Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Simon Stock), the screening was used for textural purposes. In the third window, the image of Rebecca used in the Elizabeth Seton window was transferred with screen printing. All of the other imagery and figurative windows were hand painted.
Fabrication:
The windows were made in collaboration with Glasmalerei Peters in Paderbom, Germany. Their expertise, wonderful kiln facilities, and dedication to art made it possible to realize this complex project.
Project:
Four Tower Windows; 2000 (9ft. diameter each). Main Rose Window; 2000 (9ft. diameter). Three Triangular Clerestory Windows; 2000 (7ft. x 15ft. each). Two Sanctuary Windows; 2000 (8ft. x 16ft. each). Chapel Windows; 2002 (5ft. x 22ft.) Four Interior Corridor Windows; 2002 (4ft. x 4ft. each). Reconciliation Room Windows; 2002 (5ft. x 8ft.).
Location:
Thomas a Becket Catholic Church, Canton, Michigan, USA.
Concept:
My vision for the stained-glass windows was to create a warm, joyous atmosphere for the sanctuary and give beauty and colour to the worship space.
Sanctuary Windows
The two sanctuary windows are based on the themes of Christ’s parables and miracles. Both of these major windows are set within a richly coloured and densely leaded garden image. The parables are represented by the Parable of the Sower. The miracles are represented by the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes. These windows are designed to be peaceful meditations, although their intricate detail and unusual imagery give the viewer many layers to contemplate.
Triangular North, South, and East Clerestory Windows
The three large triangular windows are an expression of grace - in the past, present, and future of the Christian Church:
The red north window represents Pentecost, marking the beginning of the Church. The movement-filled yellow to red colouration balances a highly structured grid system. The green south window represents the fulfilment of the promise of Pentecost. In it, the green to blue coloration tempers the intense south light into a serene and meditative illumination for the interior. The blue and clear east window is the baptismal window, representing the future of the Church in its newest members. The baptism window uses sculptural elements and prisms - images of water and light - as a symbol of the sacrament. The massive sculptural prisms project rainbows of light down onto the font below.
Tower Windows
The four windows located in the tower bring extraordinary projections of light into the sanctuary. The theme of the tower windows is "the liturgical seasons". The east window, with its gold and white glow, represents Easter. This triumphal light enlivens the floor of the sanctuary every sunny morning.
Chapel Windows
The chapel windows have a beautiful small space to themselves and were designed to provide a serene, gentle, and prayerful environment. The stained glass for the chapel is inspired by the beauty of creation and a passage from Ecclesiastes 24: 31, 32: "Today my river is reaching the sea. Tomorrow I will make the Word shine."
The windows consist of five panels (divided into three sections) of hand-made, leaded glass with a combination of translucency and transparency. The colours are primarily blues, greens, white, and gold, which create a calm and tranquil atmosphere in the chapel.
Interior Corridor Windows
The four interior etched glass panels are treated as translucent light-screens with delicate variations of the Canterbury Cross inscribed onto the glass with copper and gold leafwork. These light-screens provide privacy for the chapel and a quiet, ephemeral illumination for the interior corridor.
Reconciliation Room
The stained glass for the reconciliation room is based on the Parable of the Prodigal Son, with its theme of forgiveness and mercy. These panels are created using hand-made, painted glass, which is mostly translucent in order to ensure privacy and quietude for the room. The colours of rose, gold, green, and purple bring richness and warmth to the space. The vine pattern that forms columns on each side relates to the garden-like setting of the main sanctuary windows.
Main Rose Window
The main rose window is based on the Canterbury Cross, a symbol of inspiration and renewal. The original Canterbury Cross, dating from around 850 AD, was excavated in 1867 in St. George's Street in Canterbury, England. It was subsequently bequeathed to the Canterbury Heritage Museum. The window design develops this ancient symbol into a vibrant, contemporary image that links the church with its namesake, Thomas a Becket, and with Canterbury Cathedral.
Technique:
All of the windows were created using the traditional leaded technique. The glass is full antique. Most of the glass for this project was custom made by Lamberts in Waldsassen, Germany. Some of the glass is a double flash with strong gradations, which allow dramatic colour shifts within individually leaded pieces. The flashed glass is sometimes sandblasted or painted to achieve further detail. The south clerestory window is created with hundreds of sculptural prisms, and it makes extraordinary use of the direct south light.
Fabrication:
All of the windows, except the chapel, reconciliation room, and interior corridor windows were made in collaboration with Sattler Studio, West LaHave, Nova Scotia. The chapel, reconciliation room, and interior corridor windows were made at Sarah Hall Studio in Toronto.
Project:
Twelve Clerestory Windows; 2000 (20in. x 22in. each). Four Sanctuary Windows (16ft. x 4ft. each). Entryway (10ft. x 18ft.).
Location:
B'nai Keshet Synagogue, Montclair, New Jersey, USA.
Concept:
Entryway
The design for the entryway doors and side lights is based on a passage from Exodus: "By day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way; and by night a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel night and day." The entryway glass is sandblasted and double-plated, with gold and copper leaf between the layers. The blend of transparency, translucency, and reflected light brings a sense of mystery and expectation to the entryway, setting the stage for the dramatic interplay of light and prismatic shapes produced by the sanctuary and clerestory windows in the synagogue.
Sanctuary Windows
These windows are based on the name B'nai Keshd: "Children of the Bow."
These windows are richly sculptural, acknowledging the weight and presence of the magnificent redwood Ark in the sanctuary. The windows have an elegant, austere, geometric lattice that incorporates prisms, rondels, and textured glass. The most important feature of the windows is their sculptural, light-filled quality. Deep-cut clear glass prisms send rainbows of prismatic light throughout the sanctuary, evoking the meaning of the name, B'nai Keshd. The glass is textured at the base, moving up to light and almost clear. In this way, it brings in the sky, lots of light, and glimpses of the exterior world.
Clerestory Windows
Flowing through the emanations like clear water, it assumes the variegated colours and forms of the material world.
- Moses Cordovero
The art glass for the clerestory windows provides a warm, glowing presence in the sanctuary. The flowing colour and painterly compositions spring from the gold fabric behind the Ark. A river of clear light passes through and connects the windows.
The effect of the sanctuary and clerestory windows is described by the synagogue's Rabbi Dan Ehrenkrantz:
B'nai Keshet is never the same. Coloured light streams in, patterns form on the walls, glass takes on a sudden glow - and in a moment, all the colour, patterns, and glow have disappeared or changed with the movement of the sun or a cloud.
And yet, though incredibly dynamic, the words which are most often used to describe B'nai Keshd are 'calm and peaceful'. Sarah's windows are dynamic because light is never still. Becoming aware of the motion of light, like becoming aware of the motion of breath, creates a stillness of the spirit. "The windows possess a beauty which helps us to appreciate the beauty which surrounds us. There is a strength to their geometric structure which invites our own quiet. And there is a playfulness to the windows which makes us want to sing in response.
Technique:
Sanctuary and Clerestory Windows
The sanctuary windows were created in the traditional leaded technique using both full antique white opal glass and many clear textures. In addition to the clear, bevelled, and iridescent textures, hundreds of prisms and lenses were also incorporated.
Entryway
The entryway was created using a double layer of sandblasted and gold leafed glass. The leafwork was applied in a rough, spontaneous manner and the gold was mixed with copper and an iridescent brass leaf. The two individually leafed glass pieces were then installed together within the frame and create a complex layering of transparent, translucent and reflected golden light.
Fabrication:
All of the work was fabricated at Sarah Hall Studio in Toronto.
Project:
Recollection Series; (1997-) (42in. x 30in. each). This is an ongoing 'work in progress'.
Location:
Ontario Association of Architects Allied Arts Award Exhibition.
Concept:
The Recollection Series is composed of panels of white opal glass, screened with successive, melded plans and elevations of architectural archetypes, from Stonehenge and Santiago de Compostela to Mies van der Rohe - combined with screened images of the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaton. The images are symbolic of spiritual and intellectual quests expressed through architectural form. The panels, evocative of a universal geometry, were designed to complement and provide a counterpoint with the geometry of the OAA building in which they were exhibited.
Technique:
The imagery is transferred onto hand-made, translucent, white opal sheets with successive layers of screen-printed vitreous paint. The glass is suspended in a steel framework that allows its irregular, kiln-formed shape to float freely.
Fabrication:
The panels were created in collaboration with Sattler Studio, West LaHave, Nova Scotia.
Biography
Sarah Hall's work has won numerous awards for outstanding liturgical art from the American Institute of Architects and from Ministry and liturgy. In 1996, the Ontario Association of Architects honoured her with the Allied Arts Award for her exceptional contribution to the built environment. Sarah was recently elected into membership of the Royal Canadian Academy of Art.
Sarah attended the Architectural Glass Program at Swansea College of Art in Wales, and earned her Diploma in Architectural Glass from the City and Guilds of London Institute in 1977. She assisted Lawrence Lee, Glass Master at the Royal College of Art, after which she spent time in Jerusalem studying Middle Eastern techniques in glass. In 1980 Sarah established her studio in Toronto. She keeps a busy international schedule with lectures, exhibitions, and projects and has created over 400 stained-glass windows.
In addition to studio work, Sarah and co-author Jeffrey Kraegel have written over 35 published articles on technical, historical, and artistic aspects of stained glass. She has also written "The Color of Light", a resource book for those who commission stained glass. This book, published in 1999 by UP, Chicago, has made a unique contribution to the stained-glass field.
