light made solid

Every once in a while I like to check in on other blogs and see what's being said about stained glass.

1. This is the best one I've seen in a while. It's a stained glass window design of an angel playing electric guitar. I guess it's supposed to be a joke, but I think it would make a cool real window.


2. Also, here's a blogger calling themself "Stonecarver" who has done some research into Gothic cathedrals, architecture and stained glass.

I found the following piece which may be of interest to stained glass artists and other religious artists:

The Center for Liturgical Art at Concordia University, Seward, Neb., is inviting artists whose work has religious themes and is meant for worship settings to submit information for a database of liturgical artists that the center is assembling for its Web site as a resource for congregations and others.

Each artist may submit up to five slides of his or her work for consideration on the site. Include the artist's name, address, title of each work, the date it was completed, and the medium in which it is done. Artists also are encouraged to include a short philosophical statement or explanation of intent for each piece of art.

Mail slides and written material to Kurt Bergdolt, The Center for Liturgical Art, Concordia University, 800 N. Columbia Ave., Seward, NE 68434. Or, e-mail written material and images in jpeg or Adobe pdf format to kbergdolt@cune.edu.

Those who wish to use the database as a resource are encouraged to visit the university's Web site at www.cune.edu (click on "Music and Arts," then "Art," then "Liturgical Art Center.")

And here is a direct link to their Center for Liturgical Art for anyone who may be interested.

Here's an interesting site called CIVA.org, for Christians in the Visual Arts. From their about us page:

Christians in the Visual Arts exists to explore and nurture the relationship between the VISUAL ARTS and the CHRISTIAN FAITH. Founded in 1979, CIVA first met to consider the place of the Christian artist in the church and in the world-at-large. The success of this initial gathering led CIVA to establish a vision for activities which are now making an impact in a variety of ways.

It is our purpose to encourage Christians in the visual arts to develop their particular callings to the highest professional level possible; to learn how to deal with specific problems in the field without compromising our faith and our standard of artistic endeavor; to provide opportunities for sharing work and ideas; to foster intelligent understanding, a spirit of trust, and a cooperative relationship between those in the arts, the church, and society; and ultimately, to establish a Christian presence within the secular art world.

They also have lots of other types of resources on their site as well, like job opportunities. Worth checking out!

What a find! In Chester County, outside Philadelphia, Reverend Susannah Currie made a very worthwhile discovery. A leaky barn roof lead her move some old boxes marked simply "1964" to protect them from water damage. When she opened the crates, she discovered that they contained seven original Tiffany windows from the 1890's. Apparently 1964 was the year they had been put into crates by an old church which was slated for demolition. Over time and many moves, the contents of the boxes had been forgotten. Currie is having the windows restored for a travelling exhibit.

It's always nice to hear when other people are finding some success in starting a new stained glass business. A French woman named Corinne Desvaux has started a new company called Rinco Arts Ltd, which is doing very well, according to this article.

she offers her work on sale in shops for both the local market and tourists. She has much of her work on display on her living room table. “I work at home. In fact, when I left the tourism company, I wanted to have more time for my family.” And she is obviously more relaxed now and can spend more time with her two daughters.

Cleveland.com has an obituary/memorial article for a local glass artisan, James Whitney. Whitney, who died of kidney cancer, completed hundreds of projects ranging from a Catholic church on Kelleys Island to Baptist churches on Cleveland's East Side and buildings in other states. The article also includes:

The Old Stone Presbyterian church on Public Square, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral at East 22nd Street, First United Methodist at East 30th Street, Euclid Avenue Congregational at East 96th Street and Church of the Covenant Presbyterian in University Circle were among the churches to tap his talent.

Whitney worked in restoration, but also in new designs. He will be missed in the communities who were touched by his work.

St. Michael's Catholic Church in the south of Missippi was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina. Perhaps worse than being hit by the fury of nature is that subsequent to the storm, some of the stained glass windows of the church were stolen. After a crew of volunteers collected broken pieces of glass in order to aid restoration efforts, the pile of glass mysteriously disappeared. The church had issued a plea to the thieves to return the glass, no questions asked.