Acid Etched Panel

In Glasgow and throughout Scotland - and possibly many other areas - etched glass front doors and stair windows were very popular in the mid nineteenth century. These were made on plate glass of around 8 mm thick which have proved to be pretty strong, as many of them still exist. However accidents occur, or as in this case someone threw an object which hit the glass with enough force to break it.

When it came into my hands - because I use traditional techniques rather than sandblasting - it had already been removed by a firm of glaziers who did more damage to it in getting it out. They were not aware initially of the screws that held the mouldings to the door and so damaged the moulding and more of the glass. Such is life.

This image shows the front door with the glass installed. If you wish to find out about the process you can go to this section of the blog.

The smooth reflective nature of the glass from the outside is shown in this picture. It also shows the privacy generated, as it is not possible to see what is happening inside, even at this close an approach. The apparently clear portions are subtly textured by the acid process that you can only see colours through those areas.

From the inside you notice the amount of light that is transmitted. You can see how the glass reacts to the colours outside with the view against the sky at the top having little contrast, the centre against the houses opposite having strong contrast, and at the bottom showing the green of the grass outside. The etched parts become the dark positive on the grey/white of the ground glass.

The following two images show the detail of the centre and bottom of the door panel.

central detail

bottom detail

This has been prepared on laminated glass which is a security glass. If in the future there is an accident, the interlayer will hold the glass together and prevent any entry through the glass or injury to anyone from falling or protruding glass.

Castleton House

Through an oversight when starting this blog, I left out the developments at a large house in the west of Scotland, Castleton House. The new owner who extensively restored the house engaged an interior designer, Claire Craig to assist with the development.

The owner had purchased a number of medallions at auction and wanted them reset into a large skylight over the stair landing. After discussion it was decided to set them into a traditional glazing pattern.

A number of the pieces were of birds.

And one was of roses

There also were two medallions of women in classical dress that both needed repair and restoration.

Music

Discussions led to the decision to make a series of four medallions - one for each side of the skylight - representing areas of endeavour as would be in keeping with the period of the house.

Art as Purchased at Auction

The areas decided upon were, Art, Music, Literature and Science. As these were to form a series and as the face for Music needed to be completely repainted, it was decided to paint all the faces and any replacement backgrounds to give a unity to the whole installation.

Brian Waugh was chosen to do the painting and his success can be seen in the following photos.

Art

Science

Literature

These were installed at Castleton House by the joinery company Elmwood in this skylight. As you can see, part of the problem was to ensure the quarry glazing pattern matched all the way around the skylight.

In addition to his purchase of the medallions, the owner also obtained the two panels below at a very reasonable price. The job was to make use of the glass as best as possible in a new setting beside the front door.

There was extensive damage to the glass at the borders. It was not possible to determine what the partial figures might have been depicted as doing. After consultation, it was decided to make use of the central Justice and Prudence sections in one decorative panel set into a quarry glazing pattern for the window.

The extensive damage and inappropriate insertions can be seen from the photos below.

You can also see the amount of fine leading that was required. The whole of the two panels were taken apart. New pieces were painted where required, and the whole re-leaded.

A further requirement was that the window needed to be able to be installed in a curved window opening to fit with the whole of the curved entrance hall to house. Curved glazing bars were provided to assist with the installation.

This photograph shows part of the entrance with the cloakroom door at the bottom of the stair. The setting of the two panels without their borders can be seen in their quarry glazing at the foot of the stair.

Brian Waugh

Recently I helped Brian Waugh out with the installation of another of his windows. He is the glass artist that I most admire in Scotland for the detail of his work. This pair of windows is in a domestic situation.

The following pictures show the figures in some more detail. These were taken without the help of a tripod and so are not of the highest quality. But you will be able to see them in better quality on his website.

Larkhall Academy Windows

This project shows how long a community project can take. This was begun in 2005. The first element in the project was to get the funding from the Scottish Arts Council and the South Lanarksire Council to enable an artwork to be designed for the new Larkhall Academy school building.

The next task was to give the members of the Art Department and the students basic skills in leaded glass. A basic premise of the funding is that all 400 or so students would have a part in making something for the school. This became the creation in school premises glass tiles which were fired. Some were auctioned for funds, some kept by the students and some incorporated into light boxes.

The design task was to encourage the students from each department to present designs for an image to represent their department. From these designs concepts, groups of four students were chosen from each department to advance their designs at a three-day design workshop held in the WASPS Hanson Street Studios. The design concepts were refined and presented to the whole group.

The groups returned to school and developed work in conjunction with the Art Department teachers and presented Brian Waugh with completed images. Brian's job was to find a way to incorporate these images into a unified whole.

The original concept he developed was a double sided wheel that would be placed in steel and installed in the communal area of the school. Delays and changes in the building plans, lead to an interior version of this idea. After many delays and some problems, the school was ready to receive the completed panels.

Brian and I with the assistance of Charles Provan - the one who gathered all the funds and administered the whole long process - brought the 26 panels to be installed to the school the Friday afternoon 4 days before the grand opening.






It would have been grand to have photographs of the panels laid out on the floor to make sure we got them up in the right order - we had to take only one out to put it back in the correct place and that was before we fixed the next one in place!




Finally, we could stand back on Sunday afternoon and look with pride at what had been achieved after such a long wait.

Left Window

Right Window

The opening night for the new school went off well, with many of the people who were involved in the design, returning to school for the evening. Students, teachers, councillors, important people from the community, and even the workers attended and enjoyed the unveiling and the tours round the school.

Wretro

I have been away from the blogging for quite a while so instead of a log of activities, this should be a web retrospective - therefore a Wretro. I will in the next days try to catch up on activities.

A main element in this long period of providing thick glass for a public installation made from the glass inserted into steel has been the completion of the window for a listed historic building. I know this has been completed, because the developer is happy, the householders are happy and now the Glasgow City Heritage Trust is happy. Through them the Historic Scotland people will be assured of the quality of our work.

I included this picture to show that although the window on the stair faces north, on bright day there are faint coloured shadows on the wall. Brian Waugh has re-created the round head - almost completely destroyed - and the absent head to match the male figure. He also did all the grisaille painting that was required.

Previous posts are:
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16

Window in a Listed Building,16 - even more cementing

This panel is just below the round head of the window. The purple/blue marks the boundary of the rectangular panels with a horizontal row of leaves and flowers not elsewhere in the window.

Previous posts are:

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15

Window in a Listed Building,15 - more cementing

This is the top of the window cemented and polished. It was photographed in full sunlight with a diffusing sheet. As the window is facing north, this is the only time the top will be seen with so much light.

Having been cleaned and the missing parts recreated by Brian Waugh, the brilliant warmth of this panel glows with sun rise (or sunset depending on your view)

Previous posts are:

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14

Window in a Listed Building,14 - cementing

The cementing has begun! This is the bottom piece cemented and polished with sunlight coming through.

The cementing is done with a brushable mixture of linseed oil, white spirit and whiting, with colour to make it black. This is brushed under the leads to seal the window. It also -with appropriate amounts of brushing - blackens the leads and solder to give a counterpoint to the glass.

It now needs to rest for a while. During this time it is important to continually clean the piece to avoid any cement "drips" or other movement of the cement while it cures.

Previous posts are:

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13

Window in a Listed Building,13 - more soldering

This is the panel just below the round top. It is now soldered and awaiting cementing.

Previous posts are:

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12

Window in a Listed Building,12 - more soldering

This the top of the window with its new painted pieces incorporated into the whole. It is now to be soldered.

Previous posts are:

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11

Window in a Listed Building,11 - soldering

All the pieces are painted and the leading of the four panels is proceeding. Below is the bottom panel ready for soldering.

Previous posts are:

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10

Royal Terrace

This is a great address isn't it? I just recently helped to install this entryway by Brian Waugh. This is a total height of more than 3 metres. Brian presents a night scene - a very unusual theme for any entry. But as an entry for a day spa, it has the appropriate calmness.

Brian is in the process of developing a website and when completed will be able to show much more of his painting and stained glass works.