101 Henry Holiday heads

[Vic Rothman]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s43F3hcWTJc&feature=channel

[Kev]

Impressive work indeed!

[JoanFrances]

Beautiful.

Vic, I have long wondered how and why on painted windows the cut lines are determined.  When we do foil pieces we attempt to make cut lines part of what we all call the story, but in the leaded, painted windows this does not appear the motive.  Why?

[Vic Rothman]

Beautiful.

Vic, I have long wondered how and why on painted windows the cut lines are determined.  When we do foil pieces we attempt to make cut lines part of what we all call the story, but in the leaded, painted windows this does not appear the motive.  Why?

It depends on who designed the window and at what time in history the window was made.  Early on (medieval) they could not cut glass in integrate shapes. So leads went where the glass broke. As technique and tools developed glass was able to be cut to conform to the overall designs better. The windows that I posted were made in the early 1900's. They are fully painted. So the artist is less dependent on glass color and shape as the paint draws the eye all over the window regardless of how they are cut. The English designers were generally more interested in making structurally strong windows and tended to place lead lines accordingly. The French and German's cut larger pieces of glass and tried to make the lead lines less obtrusive.

[Kev]

Interesting!

[PiscesGlass]

Thanks for asking that question JF, I've always wondered.  And thanks for the answer Vic, makes sense!
It just seemed so random, the placement of the lead..

De

[JoanFrances]

Thanks Vic,    Looking at some of the painted windows the way the pieces had been cut, had actually soured me against learning glass painting because the cutting looked so random.

Understanding the concept has removed that attitude as an obstacle.  I have a wonderful teacher lined up to take some classes from and I am looking forward to the classes

[Vic Rothman]

I should have added that many of the lead lines that you see could be repairs that have been done over the years and were not intended by the original artist. These would include all the lead lines that run through faces

[JoanFrances]

Vic, that bring another question to mind.  You said that many of these artists did total painting.  Did they use clear glass to start with? 

[JoanFrances]

It's the pest again Vic, and I have thought of more questions
 
I had read somewhere that the paint even though fired can be affected by the sun and other elements.  Is that true, because these windows appear to have with stood elements through the years.

The church that I went to as a child had huge stained glass windows thoughout the entire building.  Those windows are well over 100 years old.  They were not sandwiched between exterior clear glass and appeared to be in wonderful shape.  Did I read correctly that now a days they are sandwiched?  If so why now, what changed from 100 years ago.  I would have thought that technology would have gotten better.

Thanks for sharing this information with us. 

[ct4mom]

keep the questions coming Joan, we are learning alot.

[Vic Rothman]

Vic, that bring another question to mind.  You said that many of these artists did total painting.  Did they use clear glass to start with? 

Typically they used full antique glass of various base colors. Most of the paint is  "trace paint"

[Vic Rothman]

It's the pest again Vic, and I have thought of more questions
 
I had read somewhere that the paint even though fired can be affected by the sun and other elements.  Is that true, because these windows appear to have with stood elements through the years.

The church that I went to as a child had huge stained glass windows thoughout the entire building.  Those windows are well over 100 years old.  They were not sandwiched between exterior clear glass and appeared to be in wonderful shape.  Did I read correctly that now a days they are sandwiched?  If so why now, what changed from 100 years ago.  I would have thought that technology would have gotten better.

Thanks for sharing this information with us. 

Fired paint is basically powdered glass. It is sold as a dry powder and you mix it with a liquid and a "binder". The binder is typically gum arabic. There was a lot of windows made in the 1850's-1900's or so. In the USA especially a lot of glass painters came from people who learnt china painting. Instead of gum arabic the china painters used borax. In china painting this worked well as the borax burnt off at the high firing temperatures. In glass painting the firing temperature are much lower and the borax did not totally burn off. These windows today often have failed paint as the borax absorbs moisture and the paint can over time flake off. So YES, some paints can be affected by "weather". The "weather is moisture inside the building. The sun has no effect of fired paint.

Only miss guided people sandwich stained glass between layers of glass. As you said, stained glass has been used as exterior windows for over 1000 years without a problem.  Today it is , however, common to put a single layer of clear glass on the outside to "protect" the stained glass. If this is not done properly,(venting etc) than the "protection" glass can do more harm than good and actually speed up the deterioration of the stained glass.

[JoanFrances]

Vic that information is fascinating.  I wish I had started this whole wonderful world of stained glass years ago, cause I know I won't live long enough to learn everything I would like to know about it.   

Is there a book/books that you recommend that I can read to learn more about the history and evolution of stained glass?     I have learned to respect the information recieved from the experts on the forums rather than other sources because I have had to un-learn info from some people I thought knew what they were talking about.

[Rebecca]

Vic that information is fascinating.  I wish I had started this whole wonderful world of stained glass years ago, cause I know I won't live long enough to learn everything I would like to know about it.   

My feelings exactly!

Rebecca

[Vic Rothman]

Vic that information is fascinating.  I wish I had started this whole wonderful world of stained glass years ago, cause I know I won't live long enough to learn everything I would like to know about it.   

Is there a book/books that you recommend that I can read to learn more about the history and evolution of stained glass?     I have learned to respect the information recieved from the experts on the forums rather than other sources because I have had to un-learn info from some people I thought knew what they were talking about.

Vic that information is fascinating.  I wish I had started this whole wonderful world of stained glass years ago, cause I know I won't live long enough to learn everything I would like to know about it.   

Is there a book/books that you recommend that I can read to learn more about the history and evolution of stained glass?     I have learned to respect the information recieved from the experts on the forums rather than other sources because I have had to un-learn info from some people I thought knew what they were talking about.

"Stained Glass" by Lee ISBN 0 517527286
"Stained Glass From its Origins To The Present" by Raguin, ISBN 081094644-0

If you shop around you should be able to get these books for under $25 each

[JoanFrances]

thanks Vic, will be looking for them