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Wednesday 25 February 2009

New Light Through Old Windows

Tiffany Standing Lamp Pictures, Images and Photos

Well, after yesterday's many hues of fracas, and after all that hoo-hah about Google/Booger farting about with missing and not missing followers of our blogs, which really set the cat amongst the pigeons to be fair, I am in a more reflective mood today...

Can I just quickly share with you one of the many bold and wise comments left for me yesterday? This by the literary Beth Kephart:

"Beth Kephart said...

I so believe that this is about finding what is real, finding the people who would be your friends if they were standing right there beside you.

Clearly you have about you some wonderful friends. And they'll stay true.

A Woman Of No Importance said...

Beth Kephart: You are very right, my friend - Have I said already that I love all of them? All of them - Even the dastardly clever, cunning, and curmudgeonly ones...

And I do not give my love lightly... xxx"

This is honestly very true - And for those of you who would like a small token of my fondest thoughts about you, at the bottom of this page is a lovely Friends Award which came via the most beautiful, La Belette Rouge, to all her loved followers -

Can you see the sweet Peanuts cartoon - Snoopy and Woodstock, the little bird? Please feel free to take it and know that you are never, never far from my thoughts... (Often addled as they are, it is true - Thank you, Diane for mentioning that!)


Men have arrived this morning, to rend the very windows of my house to scrap and dust, shard and fragment...

I am taking the opportunity, being still at home recuperating from the op, to have the doors and windows of my house refreshed. We have lived with them for almost seven years, (and they were already at least 20 years old then), and to be honest, they are ready to be be pushed out of their own accord, with scarcely a jemmy/jimmy required!

You know by now. if you drop by from time to time. that I am a lover of glass, and not only the kind that delicious wine comes in...

I love the art of stained glass, and although my own windows will be plastic and modern, without many redeeming features, other than serving to comfort us against the cold winds that tend to blow up here around our turret overlooking the Simonside Hills; We hope they will also buffer us against the howls of a neighbour's noisy hunting dog - My doors, front and back, will each have a touch of glass magic... The front door will have an etched diamond-cut pattern surrounded by an arch of vermillion glass, while the back door has a raised Rennie Mackintosh-style rose in clear glass, again couched within a frame of vermillion*** glass.

My most favourite glass is that made famous by Tiffany. I had a chance to call in to leave a sprig from yesterday's flowers for favoured followers for La Wiki, and she whispered to me thusly:

"Tiffany glass is the generic name used to describe the many and varied types of glass developed and produced by Louis Comfort Tiffany, (1848-1933), one of the most famous stained glass artists of the United States and remembered not only for his windows but for decorative glass objects, in particular so-called Tiffany lamps.

"In 1865 Tiffany travelled to Europe and in London he visited the Victoria and Albert Museum, whose extensive collection of Roman and Syrian glass made a deep impression on him. (And there you have it - The inspiration for his wonders came from this side of the pond - Amazing, non?!)...

"He admired the colouration of mediaeval glass and was convinced that the quality of contemporary glass could be improved upon. In his own words, the "Rich tones are due in part to the use of pot metal full of impurities, and in part to the uneven thickness of the glass, but still more because the glass maker of that day abstained from the use of paint".

"Tiffany was an interior designer, and in 1878 his interest turned towards the creation of stained glass, when he opened his own studio and glass foundry because he was unable to find the types of glass that he desired in interior decoration. His inventiveness both as a designer of windows and as a" manufacturer of glass " with which to create them was to become renowned.

"Tiffany wanted the glass itself to transmit texture and rich colors and he developed a type of glass he called Favrile. Tiffany patented Favrile glass in 1880. The trade name "Favrile" was derived from the French word, fabrile, meaning handcrafted.

"Favrile glass often has a distinctive characteristic that is common in some glass from Classical antiquity: it possesses a superficial iridescence. This iridescence causes the surface to shimmer, but also causes a degree of opacity. This effect was obtained by mixing different colors of glass together while hot.

According to Tiffany:

"Favrile glass is distinguished by brilliant or deeply toned colors, usually iridescent like the wings of certain American butterflies, the necks of pigeons and peacocks, the wing covers of various beetles."

That's ma petite lecon on glass over for today, mes chums.

*** A little footnote: "Vermilion, sometimes spelled vermillion, when found naturally occurring, is an opaque orange red pigment, used since antiquity, originally derived from the powdered mineral cinnabar. Chemically, the pigment is mercuric sulfide, HgS, and like all mercury compounds it is toxic. (Yikes, as Scooby would say!). Its name is derived from the French vermeil which was used to mean any red dye, and which itself comes from vermiculum, a red dye made from the insect Kermes vermilio. The words for the color red in Portuguese (vermelho) and Catalan (vermell) derive from this term".

Moving along, I know that many of you are going through considerable upheaval and trials at the moment, so I thought I would send a few little whispered wishes through the incense-scented, Moorish blue and brown tiled hallways of Goddess Wiki's chambers.

I wish for you patience to deal with whatever situations you find yourself in, while you grapple with finding a way through from where you are...

Patience (front) Pictures, Images and Photos

I wish for you courage to deal with what life and fate chooses to throw at us - "The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" and consequence, to quote the noble Bard himself...

Courage (front) Pictures, Images and Photos

I send you, for all that it is worth, thoughts of love and grace...

CW 3 Pictures, Images and Photos

I wish for you great strength, and I know you will cope with what lies before you, just as well as you have handled all the nuts and bolts of what you have encountered in the past...

CW 13 Pictures, Images and Photos

Some of you have faith from whatever source... I hope that that which sustains you continues to bring you comfort and joy...

CW 6 Pictures, Images and Photos

I know that those of you who trot alongside my portal occasionally are light-filled souls replete with goodness... I know it because you share your wit, wisdom and experience with me every day, and I know you are blessed with it... I hope you can feel it, glowing within you now.

CW 30 Pictures, Images and Photos

I also know you have such generosity of spirit and love... I know that because you demonstrate it every day through your words, deeds and energies...

CW 17 Pictures, Images and Photos

I know some of you think I am certifiable, and I can live with that, so I ask that angels continue to watch over your every step in life, and may you feel their fine feathers brush your skin occasionally to cool and comfort you...

CW 42 Pictures, Images and Photos


Finally, will the last of you here, please switch off the light, as I am keen to conserve the earth's resources, after all... (And keep the 'leccy bill down after all, I am not made of money!)... I shall be otherwise engaged, you see - Busy making builders' tea for my Window Knights In Shining Armour! A tout a l'heure dahlinks!

a real Tiffany lamp Pictures, Images and Photos

32 comments:

Jinksy said...

Kermes vermilio - a blushing frog, perhaps? Or bleeding Kermit, in a nastier vein - get it? Heh, Heh, Heh!xxx

Zuzana said...

I love stained glass. The stained glass windows of the European cathedrals and churches always catch my eye. Seeing that you love this as well, I can recommend a visit to the Fraumünster church in Zurich, Switzerland with it's main attraction of five stained-glass windows designed by Marc Chagall.;)

Reasons said...

Gosh, you are an oracle of information! You enrich my world. Reasons x

Vodka Mom said...

I adore stained glass- and especially Tiffany lamps. I can't afford one right now- but SOMEDAY I WILL!!

I loved this post- you are amazing.

Carolina said...

And the best advice of all: Don't lick the red glass!

;-)

Michelle said...

Gosh pretty lady, how does your mind have all it does??? I want some of what you are having for breakfast!!! :O)

Wonderfully crafted post, it just flows!!!

Unknown said...

Hello Fhina,

First of all, APOLOGIES - for not having seen your post yesterday and the fact that you gave me an award!! Thanks a million, you are too kind. It is now proudly displayed.

Thanks also for today's stained glass, which you know I like. I love Tiffany's windows but am less enamoured of the lamps. And me with a lighting shop! Although, one of our suppliers does some stunners but I'd need a second mortgage! Hope your fenetres are sparkling!

Beth Kephart said...

This is wonderful (and thank you for the shout out!). My mother loved stained glass and ultimately commissioned a window for the urban Presbyterian church where she'd gone each Sunday with her mother. A beautiful window in a now raw part of the world. I would go with her to the workshop as it was being built. A beautiful experience.

Carol said...

I Popped over after seeing your comment on the lovely French Fancy's post....your a woman after my own heart!!! Not dull at all and a lover of Tiffany glass....I shall definately be back :-)

C x

La Belette Rouge said...

I am not sure why but Firefox likes to shut down everytime I come to your page. I am going to see if the same thing happens when I use Firefox. Does this happen to anyone else? I think it is becuase your blog, your writing and you are high-powered and are more powerful than my mere MacBook.

On a Tiffany glass note, my grandmother gave away a Tiffany lamp to people who moved into a house she was vacating and it wasn't until years later that she mentioned that she had a lamp that she never liked from Tiffany's that she had given away.

blognut said...

You're wonderful, Fhina. And we all love you too. Wait... you did mean to love me when you said you love us all, right? If not... nevermind. If so... can I be one of the clever ones and not one of the curmudgeonly ones? Yikes, I'm needier than I first thought.

blognut said...

Oh, and the pictures are beautiful, of course!

loong said...

When you smile, I smile, that’s the deal.
I will not walk past you and not look you in the eyes and not acknowledge you.
Instead we will pass each other and say hello.

Not with our words, for they are not the same; but with our faces.
I meet you and I see there is good in your eyes, there's passion in your heart and there's a friendly hello in your smile.

And for the first time we can relate and appreciate each other.
That’s all it takes, that’s where it starts.
Because I know that you will smile and I will smile and the rest is easy.

Diane said...

I love stained glass as well! I have a beautiful Rennie Mackintosh frame I got in Scotland... LOVE it.

French Fancy... said...

I also love stained glass. When we were in NY we saw some fantastic original Tiffany pieces at the Met - it was a sight to be seen. Of course I couldn't wait to get to the gift shop so that I could buy a reproduction of my favourite - then of course we had all the worry about it getting smashed in the overhead locker - but it didn't.

Kate Coveny Hood said...

Stained glass is an incredible art form. I recently read a book by Carol Goodman called The Drowning Tree. It is a mystery (like all of her books) and the protagonist is a stained glass artist. The level of detail that she brings to her story telling is amazing, and I think anyone that loves stained glass would LOVE this page turner.

Rosaria Williams said...

O.K. After all these comments, I'm not sure I want to leave mine. And you worry about friends?

Your lesson about stained glass windows brought back zillions of stories. Thanks for the promenade.

A Woman Of No Importance said...

jinksy: Trust you, la jinks, to be so witty about it - It is like a blushing Kermit, definitely!

Protege: A visit to Zurich would suit me down to the ground! I am always darting in and out of interesting buildings, and being ejected from some - I need to write about that another day! My husband always knows where I can be found - Never far if there is stained glass or an old church to see! I do like Marc Chagall's work, and I think I have seen photos of his windows, taken by my tutors, in fact!

Reasons to be Cheerful 1,2,3: Oracle is a lovely term, isn't it? I am a jack of all trades, and master of none, sadly when it comes to information! Bless you for being so kind, Reasons1 x

Vodka Mom: I would dearly love to own a proper Tiffany lamp one day, until then I content myself with cheaper reproductions that my late cats trashed to the ground! I have never plucked up the courage to try to make one yet, although others at my classes did very well! I know you will get to own an original lamp one day, VKMom - You deserve it so! x

Carolina: I know, thank you for the advice - Having read that the red glass was toxic, it is just the sort of thing I would be daft enough to do!

Michelle: I loved your piece on the Oscars, by the way! I have a very odd mind, it is true! Full of useless information! Mwah!

Derrick: Glad you collected your wee award, Derrick! You have a lighting shop - I adore lighting! I shall be in like Flynn! I have around half of my fenetres in, more tomorrow, and am sitting here happed in a shawl and fffrrrreeeezzziinnngggg!

Beth Kephart: Bless you, Beth! To commission a window for a church is such a beautiful gift I always think... It is a wonderful art which has changed little in many centuries!

Carol and Chris: I have joined up to your interesting blog now too - I love your splats by the way - Are they in quarantine? Come back any time C & C! x

La Belette Rouge: I am sorry to be a trial to some computers, I know it is probably all the pics - I do not know how to rectify that, other than stopping posting so many pics, but I am like Lily in a dog treat store, I cannot stop myself! xxx I think I would have had to slap my grandmother (as much as I adored her) had she ever had the tenacity to give away a Tiffany lamp!

blognut: Of course I love you, how could I not love a blog about nuts, who is nuts about blogging?! You can be one of the cute and clever ones, b! x

loong: You had me at hello! What beautiful lines - Welcome!

Diane: I am saving Rennie Mackintosh for another day - I have always loved his life and art, and have prints of his pencil etchings done at Holy Island, which I bought from a little shop there, hanging above my fireplace... If it weren't for the fact that GJ would stop me, I would have his and his love's art, colours and furniture styles all around my home, Diane! I have a couple of small stained glass lampshades ready to be hung 'though! xox

French Fancy: I am so pleased there are so many fans of stained glass - It actually gives me hope... I would have been with you on procuring a replica lamp - I think the last picture was of an original in the Met museum in NY... Only I don't think my OH would have elected to carry it back through customs - He moans if I've bought so much as a poster, because they travel so badly... of is that just klutzy us?! x

Kate Coveny Hood: It is, I love it dearly, and often when I'm in some crusty Victorian town hall, I find myself wandering the corridors, sitting down to sketch (badly) the stained glass designs there! Until I'm chased off by security, which is what usually happens! I shall look out for that book and author, definitely - Thank you! x

lakeviewer: Never be put off leaving a comment, LV, although I must admit on some lovely sites, where hundreds are making comments, I often do hold back - I shall never get there, so don't worry about it! x
Glad I rekindled some memories of glass...

ArtistUnplugged said...

The stained glass photos are scrumptious! I hope the "window treatment" goes well. Your words are most lovely today!

Suldog said...

I adore stained glass, especially with sun streaming through it while I'm sitting in someplace sacred.

Saz said...

Loevly post Fh...I too -surprise surprise, love glass and stained glass, I the pre raphaelite room, we have the original drawing for stained glass windows, they are brilliant you van get right up close to see them...should come over one day!!

FFf x

auntiegwen said...

I saw some at the Met in New York and it was stunning and I can't wait to see your Macintosh, when I visit Glasgow I always go see some of his stuff, I love his wife's art too xx

Chairman Bill said...

I love his macs.

Anonymous said...

"I know some of you think I am certifiable, and I can live with that, so I ask that angels continue to watch over your every step in life, and may you feel their fine feathers brush your skin occasionally to cool and comfort you..."

Sweet and funny all at the same time.

Scriptor Senex said...

Love the stained glass windows, especially Patience.

A Woman Of No Importance said...

Artist Unplugged: Glad you liked the windows, unfortunately I have no idea where they are. Windows are being knocked out into the street as we speak, and the wind is calling!

Suldog: Hello Sir! In my mind there is nothing like stained glass with sunlight shining behind it for a feeling of peace, even if one is not religiously inclined...

Fat, frumpy and fifty: I have now looked online at the museum in Carlisle - Looks very interesting, and I had never realised the Pre-Raphaelite links to Cumbria, Saz! I will have to get to come over when you are on duty, so I get to see you, or you could be off-duty and a star guide! I am terrible mind for getting right up to exhibits and usually banging my forehead against glass cabinets! xxx

auntiegwen: You are such a traveller, you! I have never seen the Mackintosh buildings in Glasgow - My OH always balks, and I have only been there once for work, so had no opportunity to slip off! His wife's and sis in law's art is more feminine, figurative and stunning! x

Chairman Bill: I can see you in that Mackintosh in the bushes, Sir!

The Things We Carried: You too are so sweet and clever, Meredith - I hope things are settling over at yours now... Thinking of you x

Scriptor Senex: We all could always do with a little more patience, non?!

Andrea said...

Excellent post accompanied by the perfect stained glass images!! I enjoyed this immensely this morning! :)

Saz said...

Are you ok, you havent posted in 12 minutes...so l'm a little worried!!

A Woman Of No Importance said...

Andrea - You are most kind and always welcome, my dahlink!

Saz: I can always rely on you to be cheeky, n'est-ce pas - You are wonderful and I love you, really! (Just like those old Dick Emery sketches, do you remember?!) Mwah! xox

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Something I wrote earlier...

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