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.