News

Dr Neil Moat

It is with great sadness that we report the sudden and unexpected death of stained glass scholar Dr Neil Moat. We hope to include a fitting tribute to him in the next issue of Vidimus.

Reminder: Call for Papers for the The 10th Forum for the Conservation and Technology of Historic Stained Glass

The 10th Forum for the Conservation and Technology of Historic Stained Glass, organised by the Corpus Vitrearum / ICOMOS International Scientific Committee for the Conservation of Stained Glass in conjunction with the Society of Glass Technology will take place in Cambridge on 3-6 September 2017.

The Forum, Stained Glass: Art at the Surface; Creation, Recognition, Conservation, will focus on the ways in which glass is transformed into art by the application of surface decoration, whether fired or unfired. Papers on the composition, recognition, deterioration and conservation of all aspects of the surface decoration of historic stained glass, including paint (fired and cold paint), silver stain, enamels, applied jewels and applique are welcomed.

For more information of the conference and instructions on how to register, please visit the conference website.

If you wish to offer a paper or a poster to the Forum programme, please email your proposal to abstracts@sgt.org by Friday, 3rd March 2017, marking your submission ‘Forum 2017’.

Initial proposals for papers or posters, in English, and of no more than 2500 characters (including spaces) in length and should be accompanied by a CV. If your proposal is accepted, you will be expected to supply an article of 26,000 characters (including spaces) for inclusion in the preprints volume. No oral presentation will be accepted without submission of a satisfactory preprint article.

Languages: Oral presentations must be delivered in English. Pre-print articles will be accepted in the three official languages of the Corpus Vitrearum (English, French, German).

Bristol Cathedral Considers Removal of its Largest Stained Glass Window

Fig. 1. The window dedicated to Colston.

Fig. 1. The window dedicated to Colston.

Bristol Cathedral may take the significant step of removing the church’s largest stained glass window because of its links to Edward Colston, an official of the slave trading Royal African Company, who made much of his fortune directly and indirectly from the trade.

The dean of the cathedral, the Very Rev David Hoyle, told Christian radio station Premier that he was prepared to have a “conversation” about the idea of replacing the window, dedicated to Colston’s memory, in the light of calls within the city to end any celebration of the name of the merchant. He added, however, that doing so would be “difficult”, and very expensive. He noted, furthermore, that there was a fine balancing act needed between satisfying modern sensibilities about slavery, whilst preserving the Cathedral’s own history and that of the city.

Mr Hoyle said: “Colston was a major benefactor, a man of charity. He was also involved in a trade that wasn’t considered evil at the time, but we now know to be wicked. I think that’s a complicated conversation to have. This is a conversation the city is now having about the relationship of the city with its own past.”

British Society of Master Glass Painters Spring Lecture: ‘Morris and after: G. F. Bodley and Stained Glass, 1860-75’, by Michael Hall

Friday, 10th March 2017, 6.15 pm for 6.45 pm start.

By 1870, the aesthetic lead in stained-glass design in Britain had passed from such High Victorian firms as Clayton and Bell to the new names who were to set the pace for the later Gothic revival, beginning with Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. A key figure in this transition was the architect George Frederick Bodley (1827–1907). As well as being Morris’s first major ecclesiastical client, Bodley encouraged the creation of two important new firms, Burlison and Grylls and Charles Eamer Kempe. Drawing on research for his book George Frederick Bodley and the Later Gothic Revival in Britain and America, published by Yale University Press in 2014, Michael Hall will examine the relationship between architecture and stained glass at a turning point in Victorian culture.

The lecture will take place at The Art Workers Guild, 6 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AT. It is open to members and non-members of the Society, and admission is by ticket only. For more information and to book tickets, see the BSMGP website.

Lecture: Painting on Light: A History of Stained Glass, by Roger Rosewell

Tuesday, 18th April 2017, 7.00pm.

Roger Rosewell will give a richly-illustrated lecture to the Norfolk Decorative and Fine Arts Society tracing the history of stained glass in English churches from the Anglo-Saxon period to the present day. It will discuss evolving painting styles and techniques; how medieval audiences responded to these images; the lives of the artists who made them; and the relationship between stained glass windows and other art works. Foreign glass imported into Britain, Victorian windows and work of modern artists will also be examined.

Roger is a professional lecturer, award-winning author and widely-published photographer. He was educated at St Edmund Hall, Oxford University and is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. His books include, Medieval Wall Paintings in English and Welsh Churches; A History of Stained Glass; The Medieval Monastery and Medieval Wall Paintings. His lecture will include local examples of wall paintings, stained glass and monastic remains.

Guests are welcome and a donation of £6 per guest is requested. The lecture will take place at the John Innes Conference Centre, Colney, Norwich, NR4 7UH. For more details, visit the Norfolk Decorative and Fine Arts Society website.

Stained Glass Museum Lecture: Science and Stained Glass, by Dr David Dungworth

Saturday, 20th May 2017, 7.00pm, South Transept, Ely Cathedral.

Stained glass has been prized as a unique and colourful art form since the Middle Ages. This lecture will ask what science, as opposed to the skills of the art historian, can tell us about the making of stained glass windows. It will discuss the ingredients used in glass manufacture, and the techniques of forming, colouring and decorating stained glass.

Fig. 1. David Dungworth.

Fig. 1. David Dungworth.

David Dungworth is a heritage scientist with Historic England. He obtained his PhD from Durham University on the use of bronze and brass during the Iron Age and Roman periods in northern Britain through chemical analysis (XRF). After working for the University of Sheffield, David began work with English Heritage in 1999. He co-directed the excavation of the 17th-century glass production site at Silkstone, South Yorkshire and has carried out the scientific investigation of glass from Silkstone and many other sites in England. David has carried out the scientific examination of hundreds of fragments of historic window glass, including stained glass from Hampshire, Yorkshire and Warwickshire.

This lecture has been organised by The Stained Glass Museum for Ely Cathedral Science Festival, running from 18th May – 18th June 2017.

Tickets cost £7.50 for adults, and £4 for students and children under 16. For further information and tickets, visit the Stained Glass Museum website or call 01353 660347.

The Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of Glass: Architectural Glass Artist of the Year Competition 2017

The Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of Glass is inviting entrants to its prestigious annual Stevens Architectural Glass Design Competition. The competition is the only national competition of its kind; it is open to student glass artists and designers, and those in the early stages of their glass careers. This year entrants are required to design three windows for installation at the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall, London.

The designs of the news windows must reflect the Club’s involvement in the world of motoring and its long history. Entries are assessed by a distinguished panel of practicing craftsmen. A number of cash prizes are awarded and one entrant may get the chance to realize their design. Past Stevens Competition winners have gone on to international acclaim.

Applications must be submitted to Glaziers Hall by 5pm on 30th March 2017. For further details and an application form, please see the Worshipful Company’s website.

The Stained Glass Centre: Stained Glass Workshops 2017

The Stained Glass Centre in York still has places available on three of its one-day, self-contained workshops in glass painting and leading to be held over the course of the summer, on the following dates:

Saturday 17th June – Glass painting

Saturday 1st July – Glass painting

Saturday 15th July – Leading and glazing

Workshops on glass painting will introduce basic techniques of painting on glass, as used by artists from the medieval period to the present day. Participants will practice using different brushes to produce different effects, and by the end of the day will have produced a painted piece to be fired. Those who also attend a glazing day will be able to incorporate this painted piece into a leaded panel. The leading and glazing workshop will focus on basic techniques of cutting glass to shape, leading and soldering to produce a simple stained glass panel. Those who have previously attended a painting workshop will be able to incorporate their painted piece into a leaded panel.

The workshops are taught by Ann Sotheran, a Fellow of the British Society of Master Glass Painters, with over 25 years’ experience of designing and making stained glass. She has taught evening classes in stained glass for nearly twenty years as well as various workshops covering all aspects of stained glass work.

The workshops are held at St Martin-cum-Gregory Church, Micklegate, York, and run from 10.30am to 5.00pm. The cost of attending each day is £70, which includes all materials and use of tools and equipment. Numbers are limited to ten at each workshop. For further information and registration, please see the Stained Glass Centre website or email events@stainedglasscentre.org

Stained Glass Museum Workshop: Metal & Glass Fusing, with Sarah Hunt

Saturday, 25th March 2017, 1.30pm – 4.00pm.

This half-day workshop is designed to introduce beginners to the techniques necessary to begin creating fused glass artwork. Areas covered will include fusing clear and coloured glass using fritt, confetti, stringers, noodles and metal inclusions, with special emphasis on the construction of designs. Students will then have the opportunity to design and make small glass items of their choice, such as tiles, coasters, jewellery or decorative hangings.

The tutor will provide examples of the different techniques, processes, fittings and results for students to handle and examine, but the emphasis of the workshop will remain on the creative designs that students can achieve by themselves, ensuring that every student will have an enjoyable and rewarding day.

All glass items will be kiln-fired, typically on the day following the workshop, and can then be collected. The workshop will be held in the Stained Glass Museum workshop, South Transept Triforium, Ely Cathedral. Costs are £45 per person including materials, equipment and tuition. Friends of the Museum receive a 10% discount.

For further information, please visit the Stained Glass Museum website.