Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-10-06


i Washington Cathedral.
one-eighth to ee-sixteenths of an inch. The
thickness variations of the glass blend the rays
of light in diverging and converging lines.
Utility roundels are made after the test samples
have proved satisfactory until the artist and
glazier eventually team operations and assemble
them in the windows The roundels are finally
fitted together in such a way as to admit light
and yet form an appropriate artistic and
Christian picture.
A MONG the various unwritten rules which
Mr.. Saint of necessity must conform to in
his stained glass window design and manufac-
ture is to develop the window as component
part of the wall surface. It must be free en-
tirey from all aspects Of either linear or aerial
perspective. Violations of this vital tenet during
the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were re-
sponsble for the decline in stained glass window
production which characterized those periods.
Some of the windows in the Washington c..
thedral will be embellished with art pictures
in glass illustrating selected parallels. A multi
plicity of preliminary sketches are made and
revised or rejected in developing the various
designs. Instead Of using professional models.
Mr.. Saint as far as possible gains inspiration
from persons whose lives resemble those of the
characters portrayed For example he studied
village of New Jersey fishermen f1rsthandedly
in preparing to illustrate the parable of the
fishes. He has also engaged in botanical re-
search on some scale, familiarizing himself with
various plants mentioned in the scriptures.
SimulationS of the actual stained glass win
dows reproduced as full-scale drawings are
made and mounted on the outside walls of the
studio at similar elevations to those which the
actual windows will occupy in the cathedral
The drawings are there criticized from every
possible viewpoint by experts. The aim Is ITO
iron out all the perplexities and to eliminate
all errors" before the design is accepted
When a certain window design is ultimately
approved and colors for the glass selected q
special glaciers pattern is made. A model Is
made of heavy paper and then Is cut up into
many sections with double-edged shears The
space between the two cutting blades Is equiv
alent to the width of the leaden unions which
will hold the pieces of stained glass together in
the completed composite. The several hundred
or more pieces of glass for the given temRe
windows are cut from these paper patterns.
The ancients are reputed to have employed
hot irons in their glass cutting operations,
although at present either steel or diamond
edged cutting tools are used for that purpose.
The most critical procedure in art window
assembly is the selection of glass pieces of ex-
actly the right tint and hue. Hence the artist
assists the glazier in that work to make sure
that no mistakes occur. Otherwise, remarkable
designs might be distorted and ruined from an
artistic standpoint merely by the use of i'm
proper bits of colored glass.
Immediately after the glass units are pieced
into proper position the window is painted with
special glass paint Brilliant effects are thus
secured by the TRANSMISSION of light through the
art glass. The skillfu artist centralizes the fine
points of his craftsmanship on gaining the
maximum Of expression in the glass picture with
the minimum of observation. An art glass
window is only single plane surface and al
efforts must be concentrated on the perfection
of that surface without attempting the simula-
ton of several such planes. Translucid painting
can propose as its object only a design that
fosters harmony of colors.
Paint is used to sketch the faces of human
figures as well as folds of draperies and similar
lines which cannot be produced satisfactorily
with colored glass. Glass art was nonpusset
for decades in its efforts to achieve paints lika
those compounded by the early artists whit
transformed glass into wonderful pictures. Tn
end sought was the perfection of a warm blacl
to reddish brown paint which would provide
satiny finish and which would not crack wheI
fused to the glass.
When the painting is completed the piece
OF glass are baked in a kiln to fuse the pain
durably to the glass. The baking process
repeated If the craftsmen are in doubt abou
the permanency of the original results. Finally
the pieces of glass are linked together by tn
use of grooved leads and the whole is supporter
by irons which subdivide the window as part o
the design and simultaneously prevent bulgin
due to temperature fluctuations.