Ontario Craft Magazine - Summer 2000
The Color of Light
Commissioning Stained Glass for a Church
If you were appointed to the windows committee for a new church, a search of your library shelves for guidance on the commissioning of stained glass would likely be in vain. Until now little has been written on this topic. Stained glass artist Sarah Hall has sought to fill this void in an elegant and comprehensive manner with her new book: The Color of Light: Commissioning Stained Glass for a Church. The book clearly draws on Hall's thirty years of experience as an artist and often reflects personal viewpoints and biases. She has set out to equip potential commissioners of stained glass with all the essential information they will need, including an overview of 1,000 years of history. Hall argues strongly against the re-creation of the past in the design of new windows. Images of gothic revival, for example, abound in many churches still functioning in North America: silent testimony to the studios of the religious art industry that have a substantial economic
stake in perpetuating such sentimentality. Hall urges the reader to understand the history, but not to repeat it.
In addition to this historical introduction, Hall takes the reader through more technical considerations. Glass and other materials used in the creation of stained glass windows, fabrication, installation, even care and restoration are all discussed. However, Hall underscores the importance of design and of choosing the right artist. Surprisingly undervalued by the layman, Hall considers design key to the entire window-making process. She emphasizes this by treating the reader to scores of full-
colour images of contemporary windows created by leading artists and designers in many countries.
Finally, Hall takes the reader through the stages of the commissioning process and concludes with a number of useful questions and answers. Under Choosing an Artist, Hall could have included more information to assist potential their search for suitable artists. A com- commissioners in prehensive listing of sources of stained glass artists is contained in Appendix II, but risks being lost at the back of the book. Moreover, a cross-reference to this essential information would have been helpful
and would have ensured that it is not overlooked. Within the appendices is a useful Glossary that clarifies the often arcane and obscure terminology of stained glass practice.
Although written for a very specific audience, this book should have wide appeal to anyone interested in stained glass. The technical content does not obscure its engaging and easy readability. And then, there are those wonderful images!
