After the Protestant Reformation put the stained glass industry out of
business in the 16th Century, diamond paned glazed windows became popular in
both churches and secular buildings. The word probably comes from the Latin
‘quadrellum’, meaning little square or from the French ‘carre’ meaning square.
(https://www.coddenham-parish.uk/what-is-a-quarry/)
Quarries were often painted with motifs of flora, fauna and vignettes with
enamel and silverstain.
They epitomize the “decorative” and as such are both charming and capable of
the subtle yet persistent megainfluence of the domestic goods we encounter frequently.
“Decorative” as a derogatory term in the arts is recent and regrettable.
Perhaps it’s an attempt by those interested parties to ensure the value of “art
for art’s sake” and distinguish it from ordinary, household experiences—which
obviously are the actual carriers of the most influence as you see them all the
time and can’t escape them.
Grimoire is contemporary updating on this historical form. For me, it also
serves as an index of experimentation with what can be done with combining
flowers, birds, insects, various patterns and glass techniques. A grimoire is a
book of spells. To my way of thinking, every artwork is an attempt at a spell,
a prayer or an evocation of sorts. How else to explain the intention of any
artwork to claim special status and transcend representation or artifact-ness?
What exactly is Grimoire intended to evoke? I see it as an open-ended
opportunity to reflect on the history of marginalized women’s work—witches,
proto-pharmacists—and on the long-dismissed status of decoration, reimagining
both as equally transformative.
If you wish to read and learn about the dome, there is a brief essay at the bottom of this post.
Here are a bunch of photos (mostly) by Dom Episcopo
“Super/Natural” is a stained glass environment
representing a “three-tiered cosmos”.
In 2023, I became an artist in residence at the Penn Center
for Neuroaesthetics.This project is the
result of attending their lab meetings over the course of a year and a half and
is the time it took to complete the dome.
The dome is 8 feet high at its tallest and 5’6” in diameter.The windows were designed and fabricated by me.
The dome architecture was designed by me in collaboration with carpenter Patrick
Murray who contributed his architectural background and engineering skill.
I would like to express my immense gratitude to my parents,
Moselio and Barbara Schaechter. My father, who served as the chairman of
Microbiology at Tufts University for 23 years, awakened in me a love of
science—especially through his collection of antique mushroom books, with their
fantastic illustrations. My mother, former director of the League School of
Boston (now the League School of Autism), nurtured my curiosity about the human
mind from an early age through books and conversations. Thank you, Mom and Dad,
for your inspiration and support.
One of the research themes at Penn Center for
Neuroaesthetics is “the built environment and wellness”.It was there that I learned of
biophilicdesign. Biophilic principles are often used in hospitals and office buildings
to create “refresh rooms” and non-secular chapels—places to lower stress and
encourage feelings of serenity and peace. It comes as no surprise that reconnecting
with nature is healing. Like many urban
people, I myself have very rarely experienced wild spaces. I don’t own a car,
and I have been city-bound most of my life. Super/Natural is a response to that
condition.
Without delving too deeply into mysticism, it seems biophilic
design offers an opportunity to reconcile human consciousness with the
environment. It challenges the perceived divide between mind and body, person
vs nature, as well as the mental distinction between "interior vs.
exterior" or "self vs. not-self”, revealing it as a perceptual
illusion. While this distinction has practical heuristic value, it also fosters
loneliness and isolation.I suspect this
disconnection enables social and ecological harm. My goal was to create
something that “heals” this divide.
By situating the viewer at the center of a three-tiered
cosmos, Super/Natural invites contemplation of both inner space—how we
experience environments neurologically and psychologically—and outer space—how
we extend ourselves into our surroundings. I aimed to inspire reflection on our
interdependence with all life on Earth, encouraging an internalized sense of
connection akin to viewing the "blue marble," from within rather than
from the far-off perspective of outer space.We are ultimately connected to, not just observing nature.
Although I am not religious, I chose a chapel as a direct
reference to spiritual architecture that uses art for reflection, awe, and
transcendence. As a stained glass artist, I am acutely aware that my work is
exhibited in lightboxes, not in churches and temples as is traditional. Thus, I
have thought for years that I would like to make a “personal shrine” for a
single viewer. This goes against the convention of thinking in the monumental
terms suggested by cathedrals as well as many contemporary art venues. Western
culture tends to revere the huge and sublime while undervaluing the small,
intimate, and inscendent. This preference for grandeur creates physical and
psychological distance between the viewer and the stained glass. I sought to
collapse that separation. Moreover, stained glass in churches and public spaces
is almost always designed for a collective audience. In the age of mass media,
there’s a temptation to assume that reaching the largest number of people is
inherently better. Super/Natural challenges that notion by offering a
semi-private experience.
The imagery in Super/Natural references nature, but it is
entirely derived from my imagination. It is intended to evoke the sense of
nature as understood by a human mind—similar to the natural history images that
influenced my childhood. They are, ultimately, about invoking nature more than
depicting it. At PCfN, I learned that creativity is often tested using the
'Alternative Uses Test,' in which subjects are asked to generate as many uses
as possible for a common object—like a brick—within a limited time. The test is
scored across four dimensions(fluency,
originality, flexibility and elaboration).The flower and bird imagery in the dome was a challenge to my
imagination.How many flowers, birds and
bugs could I invent before my inspiration ran dry? What would this say about
the potential for the inventive capacity of drawing? I hope I have discovered
that imagination is potentially infinite!
Imagination is often thought of as frivolous or a waste of
time. But what could be more amazing than the extension of consciousness beyond
what feels possible, beyond reality? It
is my belief that expressing one’s authentic imagination is the most important,
radical thing we can do as conscious beings. It is my belief the mind can conjure feelings
of awe independent of external experience (and substances) and hopefully the
dome will prove to be an example of that.
One final historical link that bears mentioning is that the
botanical prints that inspired the work were often created by women as this was
a permissible art form for them in the 17th Century. No wonder they
are so amazing looking—all that artistic energy had to be funneled into this
one constricting art mode!
The composition is based on the cross-cultural theme of a
"three tiered cosmos". The ten panels at eye level represent
the "Earthly Domain". These panels consist of images of plants and
insects in a profusion of exuberant life. Below are ten panels of
wallpaper representing the "Under World". The imagery includes
roots, unhatched larva, buried bones, mycelium and other motifs of
underground. The "Heavens", the geodesic dome itself, contains
45 triangular panels. This area depicts a murmuration of colorful birds
and stars. Underfoot is a carpet of my design depicting a whirlpool,
mirroring the spiral of birds above.
Techniques
I use a material called "Flash Glass”.Flash glass is a type of hand-blown glass
with a paper-thin veneer of intense color on a base layer of lighter
color.One reason there is a lot of
color in each section of my pictures is that the flash glass is layered, typically
two pieces deep, red on clear and blue on clear with the addition of black
enamel and silverstain.
I cut the glass using a steel wheel cutter and a grozing or
running pliers.The next step is
sandblasting, a process by which one can remove the colored layer, to get
patterns and tones.After sandblasting,
I engrave finer details using rotary tools and create smooth tonal shifts in
color with diamond hand files.
When the engraving is done, I
add black enamel which fires onto glass permanently. I also use silverstain
(which is yellow). I used a fuchsia transparent enamel in places as well.This is all the paint I use--all the other
color is the flash glass itself.The use
of red and blue glass, combined with small amounts of black, yellow, and pink
enamel, produces a full-color spectrum within a single section of glass,
eliminating the need for a cut line.
The wallpaper originated from
two high-resolution images of previous stained glass windows I created based on
pencil sketches. These images were manipulated with Photoshop software to
combine them with stained glass-like transparency.
__
Here are the “Cliff Notes” supplied by Chatgpt:
Summary of Key Themes
Biophilic
design and reconnection with nature
Healing
psychological and social divides and creating connections
Interior
vs. exterior space and dissolving boundaries
Imagination
as a force for creativity and transformation
Resistance
to monumentalism in favor of intimacy
The
symbolic structure of the three-tiered cosmos
Technical
mastery of stained glass craft
Art as
a site for awe, reflection, and transcendence
These themes are interconnected, reinforcing the overarching
goal of Super/Natural to invite viewers into a deeply personal,
immersive experience that explores the connections between self, nature, and
imagination.
I shipped a piece to Europe and it arrived smashed. I'll bet you want a forensic analysis of what I did wrong! Well, I had a crate made and it was a good crate (wooden box packed inside a bigger wooden box). Maybe it could have been a little bigger to accommodate more rigid foam--but I didn't think so at the time since I have received much undamaged sheet glass from Europe packed in a whole lot less.
I shipped it using a big international shipper--not an art shipper. Maybe not the best idea, but affordable. Again, that's how I have received sheet glass. Always unbroken, and sheet glass is much more at risk than a stained glass window which is made up of much smaller pieces.
Upon analyzing the damage to the crate and the window, we (Myself, and experts Rick Prigg and Glenn Carter) determined the crate had fallen over and remained horizontal while traveling. This accounted for the smashing, which was due to shock and then the clam-shelling which is what happens when the broken pieces rub against each other repeatedly. Horizontal is always bad for stained glass and the labeling on the crate didn't result in anyone righting the crate. (Solution: next time, add plywood wings to the bottom of the crate so it can only ride upright. This is what the person who shipped it back to me did.)
"Isola" in all its unbroken glory
I wanted to restore the window because I feel it is one of my best ever.
Broken pieces marked with an "X". However, the large piece under her feet is also broken but I didn't know that until later as the breaks are so clean.
I was able to claim $ for the repair from the shipping company. Yay me. I was very surprised, actually, as I had been told entire skyscrapers in Omaha are dedicated to offices of people who's sole job it is to deny claims. They were very nice, actually.
Here are some pictures of the first step of restoration, which is to remove the broken pieces by unsoldering them. This is NOT easy or simple. In fact, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. A loathsome process! It took hours and hours to remove them because it must be done very slowly and carefully to prevent further damage. It takes two people. Two ridiculously patient people. The person you see here is Rick Prigg who is truly an expert (as well as one of my best friends!). He runs Sycamore Studio and Gallery 26 in Lansdowne and if you need stained glass windows, newly designed or damaged ones repaired, I highly recommend him!
Below are some pictures of the de-soldering process. Stay tuned for more posts regarding the restoration of this piece!!
Uncrating the piece
The pieces had been stabilized for return shipping with very sticky plastic sheets which needed to be removed first.
Beginning to unsolder (damn, its messy!)
Isola unsoldered.
Removed broken pieces. The figure, the water and the sky will be totally remade.
Top: broken pieces Bottom: Broken pieces pushed together. Since the break is so clean and the section so difficult to reproduce, this section will get hxtal-ed back together. Hxtal is a glass glue--stronger than glass, actually. When its complete the naked eye will not be able to detect any cracks.
I am making the largest project of my life and I really, really wanna share it with you! Wheeee!
First two panels complete
I am an artist in residence at the Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics (PCfN). What is neuroaesthetics you say? You can read some definitions here and check out the lab at Penn here. I am really, really enjoying my experiences there and I can say with full confidence my mind is blown. Down to matters more prosaic. As an AIR I need to do a project and I decided my project would be to build a dome based on biophilic design. Biophilic design is this.
WHY THIS PROJECT? My goals (possibly lofty), intentions etc--
To create a space inspired
by biophilic principles (but not based on them!) that encourages a
"spiritual experience" that (maybe) centers one's consciousness at the
center of ("the") universe (Doesn't ALL art do that, really?) In other
words, to attempt a "unification" of scientific and spiritual "truth".
To
create a space that encourages reflecting on the 'blue marble" from the
inside. (Hopefully reflecting on climate change, habitat destruction
and the interdependence of all life on earth)
To underscore the primacy of imagination and to call attention to the futility of objectivity in a good way! :)
To honor the history of architectural and ecclesiastical stained glass (specifically creating an intimate environment in which to view a stained glass piece)
to make my largest project ever (and possibly one of my last if my arthritis is RA or gets a lot worse)
To prove I can do this
Detail of panel 2
Another detail of panel 2
That was my elevator pitch. Here it is in a little more detail going backwards towards the most important stuff:
6 and 5 The me stuff: As Cormac McCarthy once said:"I'm not interested in writing short stories. Anything that doesn't take
years of your life and drive you to suicide hardly seems worth doing." 'Nuff said.
4. Architecture: As a stained glass artist, I am constantly being taken to
task by my colleagues in the field for not working in architectural space (my
work is exhibited in lightboxes) and thus, I have always had in the back of my
mind thoughts like “what is the ideal viewing space for my work?” and have
thought for years to make a “personal shrine” for a single viewer.This goes against the convention of thinking
in monumental architectural terms.Many
wish to make imposingly scaled projects, which presume the viewer will be at
quite a far distance from the stained glass itself.That distance registers both physically and
psychologically and I want to collapse that distance. In addition, stained glass in churches and
public spaces is almost always designed for an audience of several or more
people at once. It is not a private experience, which the dome will be. In the modernist age, there has been a
disparaging of the small, the intimate and the domestic in favor of the grand
and the sublime.In the age of mass
media, it is tempting to assume that reaching the largest number of people at
once is somehow optimal. My project is, in some ways, intended to challenge
that assumption. (Never mind this dome will actually be the largest project
I have ever undertaken!It will still be
relatively tiny by architectural stained glass standards).Because I am interested in how art, in
particular visual art, acts on a single person at a time, I am
interested specifically in creating an intimate environment.
Proposal sketch
Actual dome in progress
3.Imagination: I have this proto-theory that imagination is the most important, radical thing we can do as conscious beings. Think about it? How would you define "imagination" anyway? How is it different or the same as "creativity"? Imagination has been condemned as fantasy and a solipsistic waste of time. But is it fair to marginalize imagination and not take it seriously? Spoiler alert: NO. For one thing: our entire understanding of anything is predicated on making sense of our senses and we must do that by encoding things in our heads somehow. If you want to know more read this book. Go on, I double dare you!
I need to write and think more on this topic but enough for now or this blog post will never happen. Suffice it to say, the imagery in this dome is being generated by all my doodles at PCfN and I am on a mission to redesign nature all myself. You know, in case we kill it all? Someday we will need nature designers to make all our fake plants and animals.
Detail of panel 1
Another detail of panel 1
As for objectivity I dare you to read this. I am obsessed with natural history illustration. Here's a factoid: women of the hilariously misnamed "Enlightenment" were permitted to be botanical illustrators. Can you imagine funneling ALL your urgent artsy creativity into that? That must explain Maria Sibylla Merian (another MSM link here) and Barbara Dietzsch's genius. But that's not all! Ernst Haeckel and John James Audubon also are big influences. Yes, I know Audubon is evil, but have you seen one of his prints in the flesh? They move me almost to tears. And they prove my point that every artwork is the encoding of a human soul first and foremost and a repsonse to the external world secondly. And I want my dome to hearken to that paradox as well.
2. Blue marble:In addition to being inspired by the work of PCfN, it is my hope that the piece creates a
venue for contemplation—of both inner space, how we experience spaces
neurologically and psychologically as well as outer space, how we extend
ourselves into our surroundings.For me, this would include an environmental message.
The
earth is our home, and it can be a welcoming home and perhaps if we thought of
it as such, we might be less inclined to sit by while we destroy it.
1. Yeah, you got that right: its kinda supposed to be a sacred space inspired by science: Spirituality is not typically the realm of science (and
from my personal experience, it is absolutely taboo in academia in general
unless one is in a Religious Studies program). As such, I am assuming biophilic
spaces are studied from a practical and material point of view. But I think,
without getting too mystical about it, biophilic spaces offer an opportunity to
reconcile a human consciousness with an environmental context. They can
demonstrate that what appears to be a mind/body split, or a mental
classification of interior vs exterior (self vs “not-self”) is a perceptual
illusion and while it may have an important practical heuristic function, it also
ensures a sense of a sense of loneliness and enables eco disasters, etc.
Therefore, I conclude that if reuniting these seemingly separate things is not
the essence of “spirituality” then nothing is.I would say that from a neurological or psychological perspective, this
has some value.
Ultimately, I see the project as a model of a three tiered
cosmos, centering a single person inside a model of the “blue marble” that
we humans inhabit externally—but perhaps experience as a bubble surrounding
us.At worst, we see ourselves as the
center of the universe, but at best, we could say we are centered in the cosmos.
FINALLY! Stay tuned more to come. What going in the dome itself? BIRDIES. That's what.
One of the things they study at the Penn Center forNeuroasthetics where I am an artist in residence, is facial anomalies. These
include the obvious, such as cleft palate but the spectrum continues into the
more typical such as scars, or other so called “disfiguring” conditions that
leave a face “distorted”.All in quotes
because the stakes are high. Check these out.
It is fair to say that we as humans assess each other’s and
our own faces and if there is anything that deviates a little too far from what we expect, we notice.
Unfortunately, biases against facial anomalies do exist in
society. People with facial anomalies may face prejudice, discrimination, or
negative judgments based on their appearance. Yes—even by persons who claim
they don’t. This bias can stem from societal beauty standards, cultural
influences, lack of understanding, fear, or ignorance about these
conditions.This is what they study at
PCfN. The good news is that the bias seems changeable.
Facial anomalies interest me personally for a few reasons.One is from the POV of self-image.How does it affect a person if they feel like
a freak—even if they aren’t, say, in the case of body dysmorphia?Second: a zillion times I have been asked
about why I distort faces when I draw them.What’s it all about????I wish I
knew.All I can say is that it’s a very
strong, irresistible compulsion.Until
they look like that, I am massively unsatisfied and will destroy or alter them
until they do.They are to me, extremely
gorgeous.To others, I can’t say.But to me, they are right, and all other
faces are not-right.
Another factor in this piece was relating facial anomalies
to “glass anomalies”. What constitutes an assault on our assumptions about health,
integrity and wholeness in glass and stained glass design itself?
One thing about being a stained glass artist is dealing
with broken glass.In fact, all glass is
broken in that that’s how you get it to be the desired shape.Intention matters, but only so much.Basically, you break it into shape.And of course, it breaks on its own
sometimes. I have had many a call an email from someone really panicking
because something has quote-unquote broken. Not that it matters in the grand scheme of
human affairs, but people are really biased against broken glass, as if there
was something wrong with it!But…not all
breaks signify damaged goods and sometimes it just adds to the story and look
of the piece in a positive way. However, usually its seen as disfiguring and a
very bad thing indeed. Suddenly its no longer perfect!! (as if it ever
was!)
But of course, the breaks often add to the content in
significant ways, actually improving it: Check out these cool historical
examples: (AND THESE TOO!)
Take that, Rene Descartes!
Silence! Its golden.
Upside down peace sign on the pope, what could it mean?
Bisected cupid (a vast improvement)
Moustache
Most breaks in a window do not cause any issue with the
structure.Virtually ALL stained glass
windows have breaks in them and plenty of them if the window is old.The only time I worry is if they are
prominent enough that they interfere with the design.Like if they are right through the face.......I think you see where I am going with this!
In this piece, I wanted to address my own preciousness with
the people I draw. I wanted to challenge the notion that breakage=damage. I
wanted to see if I could intentionally break the faces right where it would
matter.Although, what I found was that in many cases,
I couldn’t go through with it.For one
thing, in order to up the ante, I made sure the painting was some of my very
best.Much harder to make myself
intentionally break it!
It is said that ugliness, dirt, weeds etc are things that are
perceived as being “out of place”, things that might be perfectly acceptable...somewhere else, thank you very much..... Breaks in glass fall into this category.
All this reminds me of how our aesthetic sense works: we
are on the lookout for certain things.We tend to have a preference for the “normal du jour”, we really like
beauty (which could be said to be normal du jour that’s exaggerated in such a way
that we are turned on rather than off) and we are destabilized by things that
are anomalous. To put it really bluntly, we tend to find them
un-attractive aka UGLY.
And yes, I am more than
familiar with the fact that some DO see them as attractive. I am one of them and
that’s why I wanted to make the piece—to create an opportunity to reconsider that what
upsets the apple cart is actually an opportunity to expand our definition of
the beautiful.
Technical deets:
My windows was painted with Reusche stencil black enamel mixed with the awkwardly named "red for flesh". I paint on a sandblasted surface. Each roundel has about 4-5 firings at 1225F.
