HELPING LEADERS BECOME
B E T T E R S T E WA R D S .
The Spirit of Stained Glass Presented by: Pearl River Glass Studio
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CHURCH EXECUTIVE • T H E S P I R I T O F S T A I N E D G L A S S
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Table of Contents TIMELESS APPEAL: WHY STAINED GLASS IS ALWAYS AT HOME IN PLACES OF WORSHIP 4 When I studied the leaded stained glass windows in the cathedral in Chartres, France, I became a pilgrim following in the footsteps of those who wore smooth the famous labyrinth stones. Instead of seeing too many cathedrals, I chose to spend a few days there to get a sense of the place and the effect the stained glass had on the space. It is difficult to put a value on the effect time has on a building and the people who worship there. Stained glass continues to be relevant in the Christian Church for a number of reasons. By Andrew Cary Young
TRUE COLORS: EXAMINING THE ENDURING SPIRIT OF STAINED GLASS IN THE CHURCH 6 The core elements of stained glass have remained unchanged for more than 1,000 years. In their own era, our contemporaries designed, cut, leaded, delivered and installed the stained glass windows. Standing on the traditions of the past, the history and traditions of our specialized artistry inform the present. Artists are designers of composition and form; the form relays a symbolic message which we can understand, or which will pique our imaginations. By Andrew Cary Young
TAKING THE MYSTERY OUT OF STAINED GLASS COMMISSION & DESIGN
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The commission and design processes for a stained glass window aren’t as mysterious as they might seem at first glance. By Andrew Cary Young
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The Spirit of Stained Glass
Timeless appeal By Andrew Cary Young
Why stained glass is always at home in places of worship From the earliest of times, we know that Phoenicians were the first to make objects of glass. As a seafaring people, they spent time on beaches where lighting strikes turned sand and ashes from cooking fires into glass. Human beings have long been fascinated by glass — its beauty and challenge of its manufacture. When I studied the leaded stained glass windows in the cathedral in Chartres, France, I became a pilgrim following in the footsteps of those who wore smooth their famous labyrinth stones. Instead of seeing too many cathedrals, I chose to spend a few days there to get a sense of the place and the effect the stained glass had on the space. It is difficult to put a value on the effect time has on a building and the people that worship there. Stained glass continues to be relevant in the Christian Church for a number of reasons. The pilgrims in medieval times would walk for days and weeks to visit the cathedrals throughout Christendom. The original stained glass artists were charged with creating a heavenly Jerusalem on earth by filling the cathedral walls with jewel tones of glass and colored light. A vivid sunset can unleash a positive reaction to its beauty in each one of us. For hundreds of years, stained glass has created that same response to beauty in pilgrims and modern churchgoers alike. People know they are in a church when they walk into a building with leaded stained glass windows in color. And — like the sunset — we respond to vivid projected color. Unlike all other art forms, stained glass is unique in manipulating the color of light — and not only the color, but also the sense of depth achieved by varying the 4
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INSPIRED? EXPLORE SOME MORE. In Human Perception and Stained Glass, Andrew Cary Young delves into the timeless appeal of stained glass in greater detail. Read it online. transparency of the stained glass. Paintings, mosaics and the like look essentially the same every time you turn on the light in the room. Stained glass can change instantly when a cloud shades the sun or when the light at dusk goes through the transition to nightfall. The light does not just change from hour to hour and day to day; it changes through the seasons of the year. In my church, we have a clear window that is scheduled to have stained glass. But, until a donor is found, this window during Advent and Christmas allows the sun low in the sky to cast a ray of bright sunlight onto the Lay Minister reading the Old and New Testament lessons. In the summer months — with the sun overhead — the color projections from the clerestory windows dapple people in the pews with projections of colored light. When we go to church, all our senses come with us. We walk in on wood, stone or concrete floors and feel the wood pews when we take a seat and smell the incense. The choir creates a joyful noise, as does the band, singers, and we, too, when singing along.
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Stained glass engages the sense of sight in a profound, compelling way. Centuries ago, the windows created a visual storybook. Today, stained glass windows can communicate the essence of theological ideas, such as the Holy Trinity or the receipt of the Holy Spirit at Baptism. Stained glass continues to be relevant to the worship Christians experience in a new structure — one recently updated through renovation, or as a way to give a new look to a familiar place. In a series of articles to follow, I will write about the continuing innovations of this time-honored art form in service to the Christian Church. These innovations parallel the continuing ability of Christianity to stay relevant in an ever-changing world. Andrew Cary Young, president of Pearl River Glass Studio, Inc., in Jackson, MS www.pearlriverglass.com, has dedicated his 40-year professional career to creating traditional leaded stained glass as well as art glass in service to the Christian Church. He is past president and current board member of the Stained Glass Association of America and has received the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts for Individual Artistic Achievement and is a graduate of Education for Ministry, University of the South, 2000-2004. T H E S P I R I T O F S T A I N E D G L A S S • CHURCH EXECUTIVE
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The Spirit of Stained Glass
By Andrew Cary Young
Examining the enduring spirit of stained glass in the Church “Who can understand what this window scene is about when it’s 100 feet off the floor of the cathedral?” This question — posed to the craftsman making the stained glass windows — is part of the ancient lore of stained glass, when the Gothic cathedrals were built. In museums, we can see, close-up, the medallions that depict scenes from the life of Jesus. One does wonder how such small detail could be understood at great distance. The scenes telling the Gospel story were always on the south side of the cathedrals so as to take advantage of the brightest native sunlight. Throughout the year, this illuminated the stories for believers and non-believers alike. Essentially, the glass artisan’s replied to the initial question was: “We put all this care and artistry — even in the smallest detail — because God will see it!” The core elements of stained glass have remained unchanged for more than 1,000 years. In their own era, our contemporaries designed, cut, leaded, delivered and installed the stained glass windows. Standing on the traditions of the past, the history and traditions of our specialized artistry inform the present. Artists are designers of composition and form; the form relays a symbolic message which we can understand, or which will pique our imaginations. A personal connection Here are a few questions to ask when looking at a stained glass window: Does the window manipulate color in a subtle way? It’s the finer subtleties that we perceive as artistic. Do the forms of the design reinforce the theme of the window? The window should be seen as one integrated whole. Does the window engage the viewer with the quality of light? The window should display the quality of glass transparency and shimmer. Stained glass has the added dimension in the Christian church of creating image and form to share or evoke the Gospel story. The very nature of stained glass is to render a subject symbolically. The artistry is parallel to the theme of creation as God spelled it out to us in biblical terms. Stained glass should express creativity, as God was creative in the seven days at the beginning of our world. The expression of this creativity finds its way to us through the way the artist chooses form, theme, color, texture and all the design elements in his or her palette. Each of us is a sanctuary in search of enlightenment. God lives within us and outside of us. Churches are sacred spaces. We seek refuge in church, the holiness of the sanctuary, and in the support of our extended church family. The creation of columbarium on church grounds is a new trend in churches that can bring our ancestors close. 6
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“Stained glass windows allow God’s light to reach us. This light is made more meaningful to us by the manipulation of colors, symbols and stories. The window can be a threshold to the enlightenment we seek as we enter a church; it helps to make us more mindful of our own relationship to God.” Stained glass windows allow God’s light to reach us. This light is made more meaningful to us by the manipulation of colors, symbols and stories. The window can be a threshold to the enlightenment we seek as we enter a church; it helps to make us more mindful of our own relationship to God. The true spirit of stained glass Christianity has continued to adapt to change over time — 2,000 years’ worth. Stained glass has done the same for half of that. In America, the great flowering of church construction paralleled the growth of the nation. From the late 1800s to the great depression, as towns grew, so did the number of churches in each community. After WWII, church construction was renewed as the baby boom generation needed Sunday schools, and their parents required a place to worship. Much stained glass was made during this time. Many stained glass studios today thrive on the maintenance and restoration of these 100-year-old stained glass windows. In Europe — since the world wars — the preservation of this 1,000-year-old history has been stained glass studios’ primary livelihood. Visual artists capture the essence of light in their compositions. There’s a photograph I keep on my desk, taken by my father and printed in his darkroom. It’s a photo of my mother in a graveyard bending down to read an inscription on a tombstone. The foreground is in shadow and silhouette of a wrought iron fence under the shade of a magnolia tree. She is in the sunlight in the middle ground, with a gray pattern of trees in the landscape beyond. churchexecutive.com
The true subject of the photograph is light and how it illuminates our world in patterns of light and dark. This is what the photographer captured at that moment in time. This image — as beautiful as it is, and as meaningful to me — is static and fixed. It will always look the same whenever I look at it. This is what separates stained glass from all other artistic mediums. When illuminated by natural sunlight, stained glass isn’t static; it changes in an instant. The nature of glass is to bend light. As the viewer moves about, his or her perspective is no longer a fixed point. Movement of the viewer changes the angle of refraction in all surfaces of the glass. The viewer moves, and the glass changes. It’s not the essence of light; it is light. The interest in glass as an artistic medium continues because of the power of glass to reach people through its inherent beauty and manipulation of light. Contemplation occurs when someone slows down long enough to let it happen. Glass — with the manipulation of light — captures the viewer’s imagination in the present moment. When we walk into a room of colored light, our imaginations are caught, and suspended for a time, by the beauty of the light in a myriad of color and transformations. This is the spirit of stained glass. Andrew Cary Young, president of Pearl River Glass Studio, Inc., in Jackson, MS [ www.pearlriverglass.com ], has dedicated his 40-year professional career to creating traditional leaded stained glass, as well as art glass, in service to the Christian Church.
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The Spirit of Stained Glass
Taking the
mystery out of stained glass commission & design By Andrew Cary Young
The commission and design processes for a stained glass window aren’t as mysterious as they might seem at first glance. The nature of stained glass is to symbolically render ideas. All the design elements — color, line, light and shade, texture — are at play. For designers (like me), this is our “grammar”; it’s our means of communication, just as the words on this page are symbols for meaning. In work for the Christian church, there exists a thousand-year history of stained glass artists who came before us — and left for us — lasting monuments to their ingenuity, intelligence and skill. Then and now, in working with a church, the stained glass artist creates a window that brings all these elements to the discussion of the design for a stained glass window to enhance the beauty of a worship space. All this is predicated on the fact that human beings will be seeing the windows in the context of a religious space. Church members are predisposed to see the artwork — whether it’s windows, sculpture or tapestry — as being of a religious nature. Recently, I received a phone call from a divinity school student. She was writing a research paper about a stained glass window which our firm created for a North Carolina church at least a decade ago. The student wanted to know what, as a stained glass artist, prompted my design process. Interestingly, prior to divinity school, she was a faithful member of the congregation for two years. She recently returned to the church to look — with new eyes — at the stained glass window. Once she permitted herself to be contemplative, she discovered that the window had a story to tell. We discussed how the window reflected the donor families’ deep roots in the community. Its design tells the story of the old, rugged cross in brown glass painted to resemble wood. The five areas of red glass further the story of the wounds Christ suffered during His crucifixion. This level of contemplation doesn’t always come naturally; often, as we consider stained glass design, we think in concrete terms — of the story told through symbols and images. We’re often literal in our observations. However, creating an image with glass, lead and paint is actually a form of abstraction. The object depicted in the window is a symbol and a guidepost for the viewer to interpret — for himself or herself, uniquely — the meaning of that symbol. The window should provide an instant “yes” and a prolonged “why?” and should remain open for individual interpretation. It’s not that the symbols are hidden; they’re in plain sight, woven into the pattern of an open design. 8
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Design revisions should respond to the ideas and concerns identified in discussions between the church committee, the architect and the designer. For instance, a donor might want the window to celebrate a marriage or to commemorate a loved one; this perspective might offer useful suggestions for the window’s design. After these conversations, the studio begins the process of creating the window. At this point in the process, the focus is on letting the window become the window. When the window is in production in our studio, it’s like an ugly duckling transforming into a beautiful swan. In its new home, the stained glass window will begin to “sing” as it becomes whole. The presence of a stained glass window in a church sanctuary educates and challenges the viewer and has great potential for contributing to the principle of Christian formation. The truth discovered in the window will be witnessed by viewers and admirers now and for many generations to come. Andrew Cary Young, president of Pearl River Glass Studio, Inc., in Jackson, MS [ www.pearlriverglass.com ], has dedicated his 40-year professional career to creating traditional leaded stained glass as well as art glass in service to the Christian Church.
A few practical steps When choosing a stained glass studio, there are a few important first steps. Study the studio’s body of work. What you request must be within the studio’s abilities and range of styles. It’s the studio’s responsibility to meet your expectations. And, in the end, the window belongs to God as a reflection of our faith. Ask a key question: What do you want the viewer to feel? Begin with a lyrical idea and a thought that deepens the theological underpinnings of the window. Should the window be a celebration? Should it express mystery? Will it be in a room for meditation, or in a space set aside for worship by the congregation? Understand the process. Typically, the process of commissioning a window begins with a conversation between the window designer and the appointed members of the congregation. The designer produces an initial sketch. This is just the beginning. The sketch might not solve all the issues in the design, but it certainly helps to define them. Some of the references might not speak to everyone, but it will speak to some. By keeping the design “open” in this way, viewers may interpret the meaning for themselves and their own individual spiritual journey. Consider the room. Take scale into account, as well as other environmental conditions — the amount of natural sunlight and the time of day when the room will be used, for example. The window design should respond to the room in which it will be displayed, as a different environment might not communicate the story as effectively. Also consider the purpose of the room and who will view the window. churchexecutive.com
Mills River United Methodist Church (Mills River, NC) T H E S P I R I T O F S T A I N E D G L A S S • CHURCH EXECUTIVE
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