When asked I always say that the inspiration for my own glass
came from looking at examples of old stained glass. I worked out
why certain techniques and design features were used and this
enabled me to invent my own way of doing things using modern
methods and contemporary imagery. West Dean House is the perfect
place to find some of this inspiration. I have three examples below
showing different periods of stained glass at West Dean with
examples of how they link to the work of my students on this
winter's course.
Above the front door you find these beautiful women representing
the four seasons. Their provenance is unknown; I concentrate on the
pattern making in the background, the detailed clothing and the
border. In the detail below left, you can see pale coloured glass
pieces with stencilled and hand painted details; for people who
don't realise that all traditional stained glass is also painted
this is a good place to start. Rob's panel (below right) shows
these same techniques, some of the pieces he has painted with iron
oxide and silver stain (the origin of the confusing name "stained
glass") have already been fired. The arrowed pieces, with a design
borrowed from a Pre-Raphaelite gown, are about to go in the
kiln.
The twentieth century glass in the bay window shown below
depicts Edward James and uses more brightly coloured glass on a
clear geometric background. The detail of the paintwork, again in
opaque iron oxide, shows rough strokes with highlights scratched
out. It reminds me of a rule that I was encouraged to follow when I
was learning glass painting, which is to paint across the lead
lines: in the detail (below centre) there are camouflaged lead
lines between the green glass pieces. Sophia (below right) wanted
to show a hare and a simplified landscape on similarly rich green
glass. She painted the hare in tones of iron oxide using a stencil
and drew the ears over the lead line to connect the hare to the
rest of the composition.