We first viewed the film KAE and Nathalie had written together to offer the children a guided 'walk through' the Heavenly Lights exhibition selecting the artwork relevant to the artistic activities to follow.
A walk which took them for a journey in the stories Margaret Agnes Rope has painted.
Nathalie did then an introduction to the art of stained glass, an art form they may have seen in the Shrewsbury Roman Catholic Cathedral, as pupils of the Roman Catholic School.
It was a time to share the study Nathalie did
to identify the birds Marga had clearly cherished in her cartoons.
Two cartoons on show in the Heavenly Lights were the perfect display
of Margaret Agnes Rope love of birds.
One of five high windows by Margaret Agnes Rope in Saint Peter and St Paul in Newport. The birds truly have a meaning in the landscape. A dipper by the well, a lesser redpoll in the woody leafy background, a kingfisher appearing by her arm in its flight which is an other bird of waters or a solitary bird, all placed in the sites a ornithologist will find them.
The school the participants go to is named after St Winefride
St Winefride is also meaningful to Nathalie who first went to St Winefride's Well in 1995 or 1996.
She had been for a major head surgery in France in 1994,
before she moved to Swansea University to study stained glass art.
She since then went back to the site nearly each year.
She wanted to give her prayers to St Winefride to keep her head in good shape for many years.
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Cartoon 2
The Benedicte (Llandovery, Wales)
Given in memory of Herbert and Teresa Vaughan, the nephew and niece of the artist, both of whom died in childhood and are depicted in the window. Please read the full study on the post Feathered Regulars
I asked the children to work to a scale that will be proportional to the full size cartoon I had brought on site and showed to them. All glass pieces I had cut for them were to a size they were invited to keep as there reference once they had selected the piece of glass.
KAE Films was hardly noticed by children all in the world of birds
a few birds sketches before a first intro to glass painting
Lamberts Glas many samples to guide their customers in their choices
Robert Christ _ Lamberts G
Very few 'no'_ many 'maybe'_ two 'Yes' it has to be
The choice of glass textures or colours was well advanced. The participants and I did some of it as the workshops took place.
I have to stay true to the meanings of the colour scheme we all discussed, even if I have to alter some of the choices made to keep the budget right.
I made all efforts to have our colours/textures/patterns harmony kept, at the same time as reducing the number of glass panes purchased to seven.
I have an allocated budget for this new order which also is inclusive of the special reduction because of the generous sponsorship by Lamberts Glas of this project.
I also have to bear in mind which glass I have in stock at my studio that will be used for this design.
I travelled to Germany by train at the lower cost of the European InterRail ticket .
If one travels from Shrewsbury to an airport, and an airport to Waldsassen, it is all much better to take the train with an afternoon/evening in London.
It was just about time to view the Paul Nash exhibition thinking of the next commission I discussed and had a meeting just before this journey. It is for the Royal Air Force Centenary Anniversary. Hopefully it will be the next #journal.
I worked on my iPad as I travelled, enjoyed chatting in German now and then with the passengers sitting by me.
The peak times of the Lamberts Glas day were my all inspiring hours at their very special heritage building and as I was in the train leaving Marktredwitz.
I had left the site all infatuated (nearly flying) by the privilege of the superb mouth blown glass I had purchased all advised by a knowledgeable gentleman sales director Manfred Mislik who placed it all in this 'trolley'.
my 'trolley' at its very early stage
The memories for ever
15th February 2017!
At my arrival
Robert Christ, Vice President, took me the closest possible to the masters of the trade all hard at work, mouth blowing and shaping the glass.
I filmed as I listened to Robert.
Fire, furnaces, agile moves of heavy metal rods, shaping, blowing, the synchronisation of bodies complementary one to an other, all fast, a rhythm and pace to keep. A glass blowing pace and agile power of the craftsmen I wished to keep as true as possible in the film.
It will be hard to cut my glass without the memory of what I followed all live for about two hours.
The glass has been delivered to my studio since then and the handling has never been so 'loving and measured'!
KAE Films edited my films. Guest Artist for the project #margaandcollections #artscouncilengland.
KAE Films is usually the one on site filming me in the making process of this stained glass project. (vimeo.com/user49985738)
PACE & PANES
For my departure
I had the delight of the company of a retired jolly lady who chose to come by me maybe because I smiled from my sit, my head turned towards her when she had entered the coach. She knew she had someone to make a conversation with.
She was as chatty as my granny Claudinette was, same vivacity of mind one will read in her cheeks. For the most, like my granny, her ancestors had worked in the trade of glass.
But even better in the skilful trade of mouth blown glass. She was confident, all very proud too, it had been a local skill for generations Czechs and Germans neighbours worked at together.
She knew all of the filmed skills I was displaying on my camera. Of the mouth blown glass technique for stained glass art, she approved all what I shared with her.
Her neighbour at home was a stained artist too! At Regensburg, we parted as if we'd known each other well. She waved goodbye behind the window when her train left the station, me waiting all in contempt for my next journey.
The job the character does for the RSPB speaks for a bond anyone may live with wild life UK birds, It refers to the lists the children and I worked from at the workshop A Touch of Glass.
To my surprise it inspired me for the cartoon's upper skies beyond the hills and the glass I had to select from the stocks at Lambert Glas.
Amy Liptrot's character of her novel The Outrun ( page 90, Canongate 2016 ) learnt to identify clouds and thinks:
"I become interested in a fairly recently discovered meteorological phenomenon: noctilucent cloud, literally 'night shining', the highest and one of the rarest types, drifting in the upper atmosphere. Unlike most cloud it is made of ice crystals rather than water droplets. It's usually invisible but just after the sunset around midsummer, in deep twilight, the tilt of the earth allows it to catch the last light of the sun. Sometimes known as 'space cloud', its first recorded observation was in 1885, tow years after the eruption of Krakatoa. It could be that the ice crystals have formed around specks of dust _ from volcanoes, meteors or space-shuttle exhausts.I like the idea of pollution creating something beautiful."
The character likes "the idea of pollution creating something beautiful".
It took place on the 10th, 18th, 19th November, 3rd December
Nathalie asked >>Did you live it as if you were contributing to the design of a craft project or an art project?<< >>The project felt more of an art response due to the level of creativity, ideas and concepts behind the work.<<
Not wishing to limit the project to the fact that Margaret Agnes Rope was of the first women to be in the world of stained glass art, the workshop was open to all, and to my surprise we were all of the same gender. How come?
The group of participants was of 6 adults who had responded to the promotion of the workshop and of 6 students of Priory School (an 11 to 16 secondary school with academy status first opened in 1939).
The participants knew nothing about the artwork of a stained glass window.
After viewing the exhibition, we all introduced to each other
>>Before the workshop I knew nothing
about interpreting or creating stained glass windows. It was for me a wonderful
eye opening experience and I can now appreciate how many different skills are
needed. I get pleasure now in seeking out stained glass examples to admire or
interpret. <<
first day _listening to Nathalie
Art and design is a popular and strong subject at Priory School. The school has a close working relationship with our
students and try to offer them a broad range of experiences in the Visual Arts beyond the classroom too.
At Key Stage 3 students have the chance to work with and learn from local art and craft practitioners. At GCSE topics are student led.
Six students who took part were 14 to 15 years old and in their first year of their Fine Art or Graphics GCSE and will hopefully use the work they produce on this project as part of their coursework, which will go
towards their final assessment.
After the Museum Collections, we toured the Heavenly Lights
Our first day at Nathalie's studio or the main hall of the E.B.W. on the 18th Nov.
The essential choice for each participant of what their contribution to the design of the window would be lead to discussion, presentation at the end of the day.
>>The adults and the school group
sat separately to work on designs but did share discussions and were all united
in our concern to convey the ideas of continuity, circle of life and care for
the environment for future generations. <<
Judy shows where her ideas
are placed in the design
Judy presents her geological study of
the hills to be placed behind the tree of birds
>> Great
opportunity to hear others opinions and insights <<
KAE Films stood by as the ladies who worked on
the theme of a garden were studying the feasibility of their choice
to the full size cartoon in Nathalie's studio
Notes about the themes selected by Priory School students:
Ishbel Newman, Tree
roots
“I have drawn
tree roots, being destroyed by pollution which is presented by bright,
unnatural colours. This also shows that although the tree looks fine from the
top and no effects can be seen yet, it will have effects later that we can not
see yet”
Josie Ellmore,Spooky woods
“woods’ spookiness.
How Nature is spooky alongside of beautiful _ nature pure beauty that is free.
It comes with life and has the price of nothing”
Katie Hilbert, Plastic
bottle
I drew this
because I thought that it represents how our society has changed and how we use
plastic more. It damages the environment and it leaves a horrible mark from our
generation. I chose my design of plastic water bottles because it symbolises
how our changes in materials affect the environment. We use plastic more and
more nowadays and it damages the environment if we do not recycle properly and
take more care with what we do with it. I did an oil slick design on one of the
bottles to show the pollution in the ground and how bad it is. I made the oil
spill a rainbow colour scheme because when the light shines on it in real life
it shows all these colours and I wanted to reflect that. I picked dark purple
because that was the main colour that I sow. I want to place it near the top of
the geology part because it shows that it is our generation that is causing
this to happen and that it is a recent change.
Livvy Swift , Ground
level, underground level
Rocks, stones,
ground level, underground level,tree roots, everything is linked. The
idea that with all modern technology, we still need to remember the foundations
and sometimes take things back to basics to remember what our purpose is, where
we came from, what path we have taken and what path we will be taking.
Neve Jones, Ground
level, Underground level
Curls of Ferns
Leaves that signify the changes of seasons and how everything is slightly
different but we are all the same. The leaves fall and become the ground and
when we die we become the earth that we walk upon.
The landscape
is cast in shadow on one side. I feel that the sun would be shinning from the
right, carving the tree to be dark. The tree looks as though it is eating and
engulfing the rocks, which reflect the shadow that is being cast upon it.
Harriet Ford, Bee Hive
Finger prints
and Bee hives, the idea that everything is personal and that we want to have
our imprint on the future of the world and leave our legacy with the our
relatives that are going to be living on what we leave for them. That it was our
responsibility.
Sian Joao (Teacher)
Ripples of
an ancient land, where enormous glaciers leave footprints of their journey,
punctuated by a life now forgotten, fantastical shapes of prehistoric marine
life.
Notes about the themes selected by other participants:
Garden Section of
Window – notes from Anni and Evelyn
We were
considering aspects of Shrewsbury that are iconic including:
·The
large number of Tudor buildings
·The
‘Quantum Leap’ sculpture near the Welsh Bridge
·The
Welsh and English Bridges
·The
skyline with St Alkmund’s, St Mary’s, St Julian’s and St Chads church spires
·The
Quarry Park and Dingle
·The
distinctive loop of the river round the town.
Much of this
was not relevant to the garden itself, but some Tudor motifs / patterns from
the buildings may be incorporated into the section above as may the skyline.
We used the
loop shape that the river makes around the town to form a path leading across
the garden, separating different areas and allowing a journey through
landscapes with different meanings. The
path could be represented as a gravel type path picking out colours from the
geological section of the window. We
envisaged a range of different people using the path, eg joggers, parents and
children / babies, cyclists, dogs etc.
From right to
left the path leads from a wild area of ferns, bluebells, wild garlic (growing
at the base of a tree which leads up to the panel above) with mushrooms at the
base indicating the recycling of nutrients back to nature.
Above it is a
formal garden inspired by The Dingle and its formal planting. After discussion with Patricia we all agreed
that it would be a good idea to use a labyrinth to represent this formal
aspect. Around the formal garden we
placed a lawn for recreational purposes, eg people having a picnic, playing
football etc.
Below the path
is an area of meadowland. Much meadow
has been lost in the last 50 years as farming has been transformed by the use
of chemicals. This could either be
represented as an area solely comprised of wild flowers such as poppy,
buttercup, mallow, clover, daisy, yarrow, campion, plantain etc or it could be
represented as crops with flowers growing amongst them. Pimhill Farm north of Shrewsbury has been
organic since 1949 and has photos of poppies and cornflowers growing in the
wheat fields (attached). This is an
example of how we can do things that work and also address the needs of the
environment. This area is bee (and other
insect) friendly and is adjacent to the bees and insects on the wall.
On the right
of the panel is an area of allotments.
There are many flourishing allotment sites in Shrewsbury which are
enthusiastically tended by hundreds of local people.
Beneath the
allotments we have placed pictures of fruit as symbols of what can be grown in
the allotments but also because Margaret Rope included similar imagery in her
work.
We did not
come up with anything for the area above the formal garden but discussed the
possibility of some temporary land use such as a festival or fair.
At the bottom
of the garden section there are insects portrayed on the top of the wall and
also a beehive. In between these we have
placed plants – ivy because it often grows on walls and nasturtiums which can
also grow on walls (though not as often).
Both have lovely shaped leaves that we thought would look good.
Notes from Pea,
Water/Nature
A quote from
Ovid
“Not for any
one man’s delight has Nature made the Sun, the Wind, the Waters; all are free.”
The theme of
the Labyrinth.
I wanted to tell about the gingko and the power of nature healing itself the regeneration possible and the continuation of this beautiful potential in nature. The vibrant yellow of the gingko
I wanted to talk of the basic need for water, that all is water, and to refer to the struggle in America to protect the waters.
God as a circle a golden ball.
In the original painting there is a central sculpture and paths to it which creates a circle with a perspective change that has it sat as a circle and I thought about paths and journeys and nature and cycles and considered a gold circle to refer to the sun and to the higher power and thought of the beauty of walking in nature and the power of prayer in nature so the labyrinth.
You showed me your work holding labyrinths deep within your glass, and it felt very powerful as a pointer to you, Chartres french nature God.
Sat within the garden within the river.
Ovid because of Metamorphosis and the study of change and nature and the pointer to medieval thought.
So gold labyrinth of alchemy in light continuum of nature as God.
Notes from Janine, Sculptural insects
Ladybirds
Notes from Judy,
Geology/structures
Second day at Nathalie's studio or the main hall of the E.B.W. on the 19th Nov.
Each participant had selected their theme and positioned it in the design:
>>I had expected to feel it as a
craft project as the
ultimate aim is creating the window. I was surprised to feel involved in a
collaborative art project as the work required me to illustrate my ideas on
paper.<<
Ambiguity of oil spill with rainbow
colours reflected on polluted waters
>>It was good to have young people
in the group, in particular because their thoughts and feelings about the
future are in a way more significant than my own as they will likely see more
of it.<<
Fossils of our times, the everlasting plastic
Oil spill in waters of rivers
Spooky woods
A garden for the cycle of life
Pea, Evelyn, Anni agreeing the spirit of the garden or the labyrinth
A labyrinth out of a quote about water
Endangered species of insects as sculptures
A bee hive as our finger print for the future of the world
spooky woods and the beehive, the finger prints turned into a pattern
Behind the surface of hills lay the colours of their geology
Last day at Nathalie's studio or the main hall of the E.B.W. on the 3rd Dec.
>>It was totally a new learning experience,
despite being involved in the creative industries my whole career, it was
wonderful to discover a whole new approach to creative expression<< (Sian, teacher accompanying the youths)
on the glass easel, before natural light
eyes fixed on glass samples
We selected the glass colours for each theme looking at the sample boxes of St Just ( French glass) Tatra (Polish glass) and Lamberts glass (our sponsor, German glass).
looking a the Lamberts Glas catalogue online
a piece of st Just glass in my stocks on display
Lamberts Glas, our sponsor for the project
one of the catalogue pieces we all agree to select
the earth tones selected
At the centre of the garden Evelyn was drawing with so much care,
will be the labyrinth with Ovid's quote
Labyrinth pattern and words selected by Pea for
the centre of the garden
a few birds sketches before a first intro to glass painting
they painted on a selection of coloured glass
