Stained glass artists use their creative abilities in different ways. Some work with pre-coloured glass, while others chose to colour and cut the glass on their own. They colour it by painting it, or by adding colour into the glass before it is cut. They burn pigments into the surface of the glass with heat, or they fuse metallic oxides onto it, creating an interesting finish. Some artists specialize in one area of staining, but most will have the ability to do them all, should need be.
Some works from our archives:
GESINA HUMAN 3RD YEAR 2005
This studio work from 2005 was exhibited at the Dorp Straat Gallery in Stellenbosch and was chosen for the KKNK Mainstream Exhibition in 2008. These works were also selected as a finalist submission for the SASOL New Signatures Competition in 2007.
ANVA CHIAZZARI 3RD YEAR 2006
These stained glass panels explore the bond between mother and daughter by combining traditional techniques (i.e. etching, oxide painting, silver staining) with warm glass techniques.
CHRISTOPHER AH SHENE BTECH 2006
A series of three windows were created (this being one of the three), each representive of male members of a direct family. Each window consists of five parts, the upper body, the middle body, the lower body, and the two sleeves and each have a Maori influenced tattoo, representative of the respective wearer.
Additional symbols are used, such as zodiac symbols, Chinese horoscope symbols, and the wearer's name translated into Mandarin. These tattoo's and symbols are placed within a gown shape, reminiscent of Chinese celestial silks, thus a reference the artist's Chinese heritage.
GABRIELLE ALLEN BTECH 2006
GESINA HUMAN BTECH 2006
ANVA CHIAZZARI BTECH 2007
“The face in the mirror”
This series of works explore the association between women and vanity. The ways in which defined roles have made women vain are explored, highlighting the beautiful exterior as vital to society’s concept of femininity.
Glass is directly linked to the association between vanity and women. Mirrors offer a reflection of reality - allowing one to view oneself as others would, allowing women to construct a sense of self and femininity from a voyeuristic perspective. In this way, glass and mirrors can be seen as pivotal to the stereotype of the vain woman, and expressive of the duality between reflection and reality.
IVOR SWART 3RD YEAR 2007
"A moment of silence, the lack of a discernable answer"
This series of drawings and glass etching piece deal with various issues of modern melancholia, entropy of the individual, Jung’s theory of the collective unconscious, and the biological need for transcendence.
The role of the unseen and subconscious memory also plays a role in determining the portrayal of the subject matter. The works convey the sense of the modern world despairing over the lack of control of anything meaningful in life.
ROSALIND DORFLING 3RD YEAR 2007
This series of painted glass works entitled ‘Hendrika Maria Ferreira’ explores the fearful and sometimes humorous elements of Schizophrenia, including hallucination, delusions and intellectual deterioration.
