Heidi Scheffler
Meetings on the Via Vitro, the Glass Road, with Heidi Scheffler and Stephane Ruault
We traveled last year along Roman glass trade routes from India, through the Middle East and on to Europe, visiting the sites linked to history of stained glass and meeting and working with contemporary artists and scholars along the way. Our journey was inspired by the legends and stories of other glass travellers: the Phoenicians of Pliny the Ancient’s tale of the discovery of glass on the coast of modern-day Israel, glass blowers like Ennion from Sidon whose work has been found from Jerusalem to London, or Jean Lafond and his exciting discovery of 8th century Arab stained glass in Syria with the archaeologist Daniel Schlumberger, for example. We would love to share with you through pictures our excitement on setting foot at these legendary sites in these countries that have been touched by the history of glass for over two thousand years.
We would also love to tell you the story, through pictures, of the artists and artisans of today who are continuing the traditions of old, or creating their own, in a time when global exchange is still the norm. We were fortunate to meet glass artists both traditional and contemporary in each country visited: from bead makers and mirror artists in India; gypsum and glass window artisans of the Middle East; artists continuing a 19th century glass painter’s tradition in Italy; to Indian, Lebanese, and Turkish artists inspired by Western tradition; and German and French artists pushing the definition of stained glass towards new meanings. We will be showing a panorama of photos reflecting these meetings and showing work and techniques.
A short description
Origins of the project: The desire to
show stained glass in a new light
What do we see when we hear the words
“stained glass”? For many of us the
first images that spring to mind are
those from the religious panels of the
great Gothic cathedrals. Although this
association is perfectly natural
considering the great value of this form
of the art, it tends to obscure anterior
as well as modern works. In fact,
stained glass, from its primitive forms
to its contemporary ones, has a history
which is as mysterious as it is
admirable, and offers to the curious a
journey across time and space imbued
with the cultures of the people who
through invention and exchange allowed
it to evolve. From intricate stucco
fretwork fit with colored panes in the
mosques of the Middle East to the first
Roman windows set with lead came, from
Cistercian panes in transparent designs
of sacred geometry to flamboyant Gothic
juxtaposition of reds and blues, from
the revolution of form and matter in Art
Nouveau panels to imposing walls of
glass in 21st century buildings, it is a
fascinating “Stained Glass Road” that we
follow.
To both witness and create
The route traces a story of stained
glass from the origins of glass and
glass blowing in India, Lebanon, Syria,
Egypt, Palestine and Israel, through the
beginnings of clear and colored glass
panes in fretted windows in those
countries as well as in Turkey and
Italy, to the flowering of Medieval and
Renaissance glass in Germany, and
France. Along with visiting and
photographing historical and
contemporary sites, we also worked with
glass studios along the way using local
technique and design. Our goal
today is to create for exhibit a panel
each per country which reflects the
story thus trod and communicates the
cultural intertwining inherent in the
history and evolution of this art.
We will also collect at least one panel
per country from the artists with whom
we worked. The power of the
proposed exhibit will come from the
spectacular nature of the medium itself
which has across millenia captured light
and imagination to tell its stories.
Beyond the facts ...
This project holds several layers of
interest. First, it provides a
historical and geographical sketch of
the intelligence and know-how of
artisans of old, brings them to the
light of the present, no more, no less
glorious, and shows that neither the
thread of tradition nor the talent and
generosity of those who infuse it with
life has been broken. Secondly,
the exhibit will bring together the
works of artists and artisans of
multiple origins and systems of belief
who all work in their own way with a
common medium, glass, and who all rely
for their art on a common vehicle which
rises each morning in the East and sets
in the West, uniting them all without
belonging to any. Finally, beyond
the many stories of war and suffering
that we hear and have heard about the
regions covered, the Via Vitro project
highlights a common technical heritage
and a universal love of light and color,
and thus tells stories other than those
that divide us, stories to be found in
the simple human sharing of knowledge,
beauty and craft.