Playing with Shapes & Color

It all began with a reject:  a big bubble up in a circular cobalt blue glass that I had fired in my kiln.  There are traces of yellow enamel.  I could not use it for the intended glasswork, so assigned it to the "can't quite discard pile."   I set it down next to  white and blue triangles.  Playing, like this:

Trying to find just a combination that titillates the senses, and creates a uniform idea, a concept, that is abstract yet coherent.  Using paper to simulate stained glass, a basic symmetry of emotion will eventually ring true.  The result, half the size is below.  The bubble has been changed for blue water glass, the clear for yellow:  Size is 9 1/2" x 14".

Over my cutting table is my old license plate, ARTBOOK, from our former home in New Hampshire, the state motto emblazoned across the top, the last two words,"or die" are taped out.  I have created a new flag, with a new pro-life alternative: "Live Free and Fly."  Ask the pink deer.

Glassed for Winter in the Studio

The last two, of four, storm windows, to replace the unseemly plastic that keeps the drafts at bay in my upstairs studio in this 175 year old, rickety house, are done.  They were such fun to do; I reconditioned (i.e. broke, cut and pieced old storm windows, adorning some with stained glass, from reused or disowned sections of old works into functional art.

The Bubble Window

28 x 45

For the Glass Room, which looks out to the S

And the woods on the mountainside,

Tamarac, Pines and Apple Trees

("Fisheye: Suncatcher dangles on the Upper Right)

The same from outside

T-Square Window

28 x 42

In the Green Bedroom, looking SE over the Pantry/Kitchen Roof

Morning Sunlight

Glazing Deceptions: When Stained Glass isn't

I was recently shaken when I realized that a favorite artist had fooled me.  He had adapted some of his world famous woodcuts for use in stained glass windows, which he'd removed from an old 19th century church.  These formed central focal medallions of the windows in place of biblical or masonic images.  Looking at the panels, I had assumed that they'd been meticulously transferred onto glass, stained, and then fired in colors replicating the originals.  Upon close inspection, I recognized that they were thin plastic replicas that had been adhered to plain glass. An illusion was shattered.  He'd cheated!  With that in mind, I have borrowed the technique to create a storm window for my studio, in the "paper" room.

The Window BEFORE

This is the window before creating the new storm window.  My early Herakles from the 1990's rests against the window, several 'discards' grace the top section.

(taken in the early morning:   the dew as yet has not been kissed by Jack)

The window AFTER with new storm inserted

St. Francis & the Goldfish

(25 1/2 x 40 1/2)

The Center Panel is a Replica of:

St. Francis Preaching to the Birds, circa 1335

Abby Church, Koningsveld, Switzerland

It is plastic film  which I sandwiched between two panels of  clear glass.

I found it in a very smelly junk shop in Ossipee, NH many, many moons ago.  It was sold as a puzzle--maybe a souvenir-- in a plastic bag. I paid probably a $1 for.

  The fish that surround it are real stained glass, which I indeed did make, painting & firing the goldfish into blue glass.  Each square is 5" x 5". 

 These fish, honest-to-goodness stained glass,are a tribute to the window pictured below, that I created inspired by the plastic model and the song, "St. Anthony Preaches to the Fishes" based on the Brentano poem, from Gustav Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn.

St. Anthony Preaches to the Fishes (30 x 35) 
This can be viewed at the Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild, 430 Railroad Street, 
St. Johnsbury, Vermont

Jack Frost is knocking

It is that time of year when heat begins to find the cracks and crevices to seep out of the interior of this house, built in the 1840's.  The old pane windows upstairs and unused-in-winter doorways get coverings of glass or plastic.  Here is the beginnings of a new storm window hall window upstairs, in the still-unfinished room, which serves as a gallery for my works.  The stairwell connecting it to the downstairs dining room has been closed off for the season.
Here is the beginning of the design on the worktable:

 Silver Solder, Gold Foil Stages

Center panel for Storm window

14" Circle, Gold bubbled & Champagne Water Glass

(Early Afternoon Sun from the South)

And here it is completed in place in the Hallway

25 1/2 " x 40 3/4"

Morning Light from the East

The Lotus in Blossom

Still inspired by the last Lotus meditation window with I did for my partner, Chuck, I began this smaller variation, of the beloved water lily. Red signifies the heart, open, filled with love and compassion in the Buddhist tradition. The white rays emanating from the flower represent the soul seeking enlightenment.  It is often associated with the goddess of compassion, Kuan Yin.  Here it is, in the glow of the Southeastern sunlight, foiled and ready for solder, then cleaned after which a patina will be applied to approximate the lead that is the base metal enfolding the glass.

And here is is, complete, in the sunlight of late afternoon.  Size is 14.5" x 14.5".

The Compassionate Heart Lotus

copyright by J. M. Frase-White, 31 August 2015

Sketches: the dance without the music

Some Works in Progress

  On Sunday I had the priviledge to visit the garden and studio of Dorian McGowan, Professor Emeritus of Lyndon State College. at his home in East Burke, Vermont, with his good friend, and mine, watercolorist Joan Harlow.  I had been snared by the wit, integrity and beauty of his work from an exhibit at Northeast Kingdom Artisans Gallery a year before my own show there.  His garden, studio and home is all a pure garden of delights, like a forest of ripe fruit and flowers all in bloom . . . even the lawn was covered in sage, so that each footstep created an aura of beauty.  I could go on for hours describing that enchanted afternoon, and his lifetime pursuing art, purely for art's sake.  

   The reason I begin this intro with the visit, other than pure enthusiasm, is that Dorian has been enraptured by the story of the Minotaur, and the Greek tale, appears throughout his yard and in his artwork, a loving obsession.  My work and thoughts lately had been taking on a theme of Greek divines and mortals.  Below are some cut paper experiments trying to develop the idea that is preying on my subconscious.  Though hardly as refined and deep as Dorian's, it shall be interesting to see what evolves. it would be wonderful if some of his inspiration, curiosity and talent merge into my work!   I have spent a good part of the morning altering them from what you see them in the photo.

4 Greek Heads

 with feathers and finery 

    Meanwhile, in the glass studio, I have begun another water lily window:

Paper into Glass

 

     This work is shows the pattern cut out and assembled over the base outline which shall be my guide when laying out the pieces of colored glass.  Beneath them is the designfor a small decorative window (14 x 14).  I have begun cutting out the flower (of antique German) red glass for the lotus and a cloudy white for a backdrop.  The goal is to have a serene and beautiful flower, for enjoyment, and contemplation, as all things beauty aspire to that goal. 

Hildegard's Feather

I have begun trying to rebuild my painting skills after many years of neglect, and am beginning to feel more confident with my work.  With humankind reaching the far edge of our solar system, dancing around Pluto, this work ponders destiny, and the miraculousness of creation.  The phrase "a feather on the breath of God", seems to encapsulate the human condition.  It is from Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179), who as a poor lass had no idea of where her destiny would lie, and recorded this remark upon her placement in a convent by her lord and master.  She must have breathed a sigh and embraced life to the fullest.

Here is the first step, blocking out sections with blue painter's tape, a startling image in it's own right.

blocking with tape, blue and white paint

And the finished work:

 Feather on the Breath of God

16 x 12, Gouache, August 2015

copyright J. Frase-White 8/2015

"The Assumption in Narnia", Tryptic

paper cutting glass: "The Assumption of Aslan", Tryptic, cut paper, pai...: jimfw420@gmail.com


       C.S. Lewis chose in his Christian parable closeted in a magic land called Narnia, he chose as the Christ figure a lion, named Aslan.  A mystical lion seemed to emerge from my scissors and X-acto knife playing, as well as two angels, and this formed the basis of The Assumption (Ascension) of Aslan in Narnia.  As the New Testament tales display Jesus, the Christ ascending to heaven, this apparition seemed a perfect placement of my paper creations.

Swan Song to fly from Childhood

In Childhood we hear stories that affect our lives and how we grow to adulthood.  This tale, The Ugly Duckling, from The Brothers Grimm was a favorite.  I did not realize that I was identifying with this cygnet, and how true its story would resemble my own life, and the need to break the mold of what I was supposed to be, according to the norms of society,  as to who, and what I am.  A poem of tribute follows.

Duckling

July 15, 2015

Gouache 12 x 16

Duckling

Felt ugly did I

They said so

some blunt, commanding

many

with looks and sighs, too polite

in pretense of civility that I

did not fit

in the landscape

nursed on Jim Crow milk spiked

 with Johns,  Calvin and Wesley

parsimonious with kindness

cursed from birth by a loving god

(He slyly bargained a deal)

Bordering the green or fallow fields

of the farms, of the town

is the forest, the  mysterious forest

where creatures, not human, live

(far away you are told

 is the fright of cities

where they flock)    

inherited lies of the good news

to be reaped at death

it has taken those who have gone before

weighted down with rocks carved with their names

silently waiting for the return

of the ancient godly one

off to heaven

off to war

off to work

off to the store

voices, looks

 sound the malaise

you are ugly

your words cannot chant their song

cannot dance to their rituals

though you try and try

and try

you are ugly

lost among others, like you

with arms and legs and eyes and mouth

hearts

 and minds

some minds

have stopped thinking

stopped questioning

while yours spins and flies

a circling bird

looking for the coveted

source

someday

you will be a pretty bird

flying free

flocking  with others

the good citizens of the world

all the same flock

a rainbow of colors

of wing shapes

beaks that sing different songs

eat different foods

whole as one

together

you will fly

all free

in the sky

and nest on land

in trees and forests

mountains and prairies

soar into and above the sea

free birds

all of you

flocking

in one habitat

one parent

one planet

home

J. Frase-White

With thanks to the Brothers Grimm and one special cygnet

15 July 2015

Lotus, the flower of wisdom, the radiance of compassion

In the decades I have worked in glass, I had not done one specifically for my partner, Chuck.  I had made windows for our homes, which first ignited my interest in doing stained glass.  I have produced several water lily themed windows for other patrons and friends.  When he suggested doing another, to aid in his meditation, I was unsure of how to approach the subject. Working with various designs, multiple sketches and several prototypes in clear glass, it evolved into this, now hanging in our study, inspired by Buddhist and other spiritual resources. The colors all represent aspiration: the red of wisdom radiating the white light of compassion, bonded to the growing green of earth, and the deep blue of spirituality over materialism.

Lotus the Light of Heaven and Earth

(for Chuck)

22 x 39

When doing a window, working from sketch, to choosing glass, to cutting, assembly, there are always moments of uncertainty (& always the one where the work looks horrible).  I was in for a surprise we hung the window and the inner circle behind the white rays emanating from the lotus, which I had chosen for the dense white color, radiated a green light (from outside it appears as the white I had chosen).  Here is a photo of the window, in the final stages of assembly as it looked on my work table.  Part of the enchantment of working in this medium is the wonder that happens as light filters, glistens or glares, through the panels of glass.

Runcible spoon, a monkey and two redefined nudes

This first new paperwork, Monkeyboy, was born while sketching some ideas for a work inspired by Lear's The Owl and Pussycat for an upcoming show at Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild.  I found myself fixating on the runcible spoon, while on the radio I overheard a man talking about eating the brains of a living monkey. I was also meditating the life of a child I have watched grow to adulthood, and his mother, who raised him manipulating, him, as did her mother, confusing love with power, dining on an elixir of repression and unimagined dreams. He is at death's door, like Hansel, fattened by the witch, his only reward is the promise of eternal life in the magic kingdom of God.

Monkey Boy, or

"My darling Monkeyboy, you're just so sweet, I could eat you all up."

11 x 14 x 1.5

Cardstock, enameled paper, tin foil, rice paper

"Daddy long-leg, 1972". Going through a pile of old works, I came upon two nude drawings I'd done when I lived on Hemenway Street in Boston, in my first solo apartment in that city.  I reframed the male, retitling it, after noticing a slight anatomical miscalculation, revealing my lack of formal, disciplined training.

Male Nude 

10 x 12

Pencil

"Nana's Pimple," another nude, also with peculiar anatomy,wearing fishnet stockings is a version of a woman I'd been enamored of way back in Baltimore.Removing the drawing from it's acidic mat I began playing with the drawing keeping the yellowed paper as the border of the polygon design, giving her a bold new setting, maybe with a little elegance to enhance the weird fondness I have for the drawing, and for lovely Joan R.

Nana's Pimple 1972-2015

10 x 8 x 1.5

Pencil Drawing, Cardstock, foam board, Rice paper

you can also see more of my work at my website: www.frasewhitepaperglass.com

Expulsion from the Garden

Part III

Expulsi de paradiso

Flight

20 x 30 x 3

Acrylic, Watercolor on cardstock

Murmurations

We are all Jews looking for the promised land. 

 Humanity has continued to populate the earth, looking for homelands, that exotic land of milk and honey. They flee the oppressors, internal and external, in the land of their birth.  It is my belief that life is growth and learning, expanding our hearts to goodness, kindness to others and our minds to knowledge.  Is it not true that that one treat others with the respect with which they uphold their own self? Yet some of those who mouth "do unto others" still listen to those seeking power, who pretend to purify by calling for death and destruction, chanting with forked tongue, spewing hatred and violence.  The voices of vengeance and retribution take over the slow progression of good, of love and caring, assuring the minions that after the slaughter, peace will prevail.

Fanning the Flames

with

 Inflammatory News

12 x 13 x 3

The flocks gather, and the horrors of the past repeated. 

Stockades are filled with munitions.  

No crops are sown, no harvest follows.

We are the pets of our anger, the avengers for the lust of our gods.

lethal murmuration

12 x 13

A third work is in  progress, to consolidate this trilogy of fear.  My hope is that beneath this testimony of the worst of humankind, there lies within the human heart, and mind, the belief that included in the necessity for survival is a true universal desire for home: peace, freedom and boundless unity of the good, the caring, and the truly brave.

Flying Fancy in St. Johnsbury

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRkM3tlaJPg

Click on the youtube video link to view 

Flights of Fancy

an exhibit of my works, 

in paper, glass and rock

 at 

The Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild

 St. Johnsbury, Vermont

 January - February 2015.

    Your tour for the evening features 

the sweet dulcimer music

 of 

Sally Rogers

and 

lilting jazz-inspired waltzes by

Dimitri Shostakovich

The Joy of In Progress

The most beautiful moments in the studio are often during the progress of a work.  A idea being refined, or often enough, redefined.  A work not quite there, but like a child, showing a spark of purity, of essence, ripening, maybe of necessity, but towards a never ending goal. Here are some works a present, and some, now completed, but in transition to that moment when it is done, it is good, and a point where it can only be taken further by the viewer.

    Here is my drafting table covered with a watercolor sketch and an oil in progress (my first in decades) for a window I am working on, and other set asides (inactive or in contemplation) reflected in a mirror.  

Above and below are pieces of a cut paper work, laid about seeking the correct color and overall position in the work.  The basis of the cutting is an emotional toiling to understand the human need to be free of violence, hatred and coercion. We all, like the biblical legends of the Hebrews, are all in search of a promised land, a land of milk and honey, a heaven on Earth.  Many of those seeking refuge know that everything promised in heaven is already here on earth. 

 And somewhere, in the here and now, that is possible.

 On the cluttered cutting table below lie pieces which show the nativity of past works--on now completed and on display until the end of the month at the Northeast Kingdom Artisans Gallery, 430 Railroad St., St. Johnsbury, VT.   The first few butterflies adorn The Green Man, a mythical who heralds the arrival of Spring, and two heads that would become the basis for "Finbarr, who lived by the sea and love to tell tales of fish and foreign lands", and "Flying to Bujumbura".