Pink Angel Story

The Story behind the Panel

Pink Angel

Pink Angel - full panel
Multiple layers of glass, leaded glass construction, wood frame
8.375" x 9.375"
1992

In this case,
more the techniques behind the Panel...

The Idea.

One of the first ideas I had when I first saw Photoshop (in 1991) came when I saw the CMYK 'channels' and understood the possibility of layering flashed glass in terms of the four color printing process. This panel was a result of that initial desire for some technical exprerimentation.

That is, the center section with the the multiple layers of glass came first, then the framing section came later. In this version of the panel as a whole, I wanted to play with negative space, hence the large black areas.Some have commented how this photo looks like a full sized architectural piece, being surprised when they find out that the actual size is not even 9 inches wide by 10 inches high. It was not my original intention though I do like this illusion of size.

I also like the abstracted figure, recognizable as a figure (to most people) but not distinct in detail.

The scratchy looking red and orange pieces in the frame area is flashed red on yellow glass. The glass was coated with a liquid resist and allowed to dry, then the resist was scratched off with a needle and acid etched. The yellow pieces with black lines were originally one large piece of glass with a pattern screenprinted and fired into the glass. The dark blue (barely visible in the corners of the panel) is also screenprinted with a repeat pattern.

Pink Angel - Detail of Multi-layered Central Figure
area approximately 2.75" x 4.25"

The Layers

There are three layers of glass in this detail - one is a gold pink flash, then a yellow flash and a cobalt blue flash. The Black paint was screened onto the blue layer and fired into the glass. The sparkly nature of this particular version of the 'angel' comes from the gold pink layer of glass. This is because the glass is softer and the cutting of the blaster went deeper in the glass. After fire polishing, these ridges caught the light in a way that the shallower flash could not. So the gold pink layer of glass will catch light from much more acute angles. The predominance of orange comes when the gold pink and yellow layers overlap.

The layers are sand-blasted, which takes away the thin layer of color but gives the glass a frosty texture. The glass the must be fire polished by heating in a kiln just to the melting point (about 1350 degrees fahrenheit) to return it to a shiny, transparent, glassy state.

The Source Panel

This is the panel of which I took a photo in 1992.

from
Second Presbyterian Church of Chicago

The Crown of Thorns
from The Five Scourges
by William Fair Kline

the original photo

The Source Photo

This photo was taken in 1992 while attending a conference of the Stained Glass Association of America in Chicago.This was a window in one of the churches on the bus tour. At the time I made the panel, I didn't even remember from which church. I just remember I liked the wild eyed expression on the face of the figure.

The photo is out of focus - a common enough plight in trying to photograph stained glass on the fly. But if you look closely, you might notice it's also double exposed. I had inadvertently rewound and shot over a roll of film that was in the camera. Hence, the double-exposure. It was a surprise, but I was really quite happy with the results.

the computer print

The Process - 1
Photoshop Work

I took the photo, scanned it and then reduced the individual channels to a black and white image (no grey tone) to acheive the artwork to make the screen for printing the sandblast resist. The liquid resist used was common white glue. It doesn't hold up very well under heavy blasting, but does enough on most flashed glasses. There are other methods of transferring making a resist for sandblasting, of course. The one I have not used but many swear by is the film resist from Rayzist.

This is what the final color print, with the CMYK channels.

Black and White Channels
The Process - 2

These are the the black and white channels that represent the Cyan, magenta, yellow and black print colors and what translate into the different layers of glass.

Pink Angel - full panel Multiple layers of glass, leaded glass construction, wood frame 8.375" x 9.375" 1992	In this case, more the techniques behind the Panel... The Idea. One of the first ideas I had when I first saw Photoshop (in 1991) came when I saw the CMYK 'channels' and understood the possibility of layering flashed glass in terms of the four color printing process. This panel was a result of that initial desire for some technical exprerimentation. That is, the center section with the the multiple layers of glass came first, then the framing section came later. In this version of the panel as a whole, I wanted to play with negative space, hence the large black areas.Some have commented how this photo looks like a full sized architectural piece, being surprised when they find out that the actual size is not even 9 inches wide by 10 inches high. It was not my original intention though I do like this illusion of size. I also like the abstracted figure, recognizable as a figure (to most people) but not distinct in detail. The scratchy looking red and orange pieces in the frame area is flashed red on yellow glass. The glass was coated with a liquid resist and allowed to dry, then the resist was scratched off with a needle and acid etched. The yellow pieces with black lines were originally one large piece of glass with a pattern screenprinted and fired into the glass. The dark blue (barely visible in the corners of the panel) is also screenprinted with a repeat pattern.
Pink Angel - Detail of Multi-layered Central Figure area approximately 2.75" x 4.25"	The Layers There are three layers of glass in this detail - one is a gold pink flash, then a yellow flash and a cobalt blue flash. The Black paint was screened onto the blue layer and fired into the glass. The sparkly nature of this particular version of the 'angel' comes from the gold pink layer of glass. This is because the glass is softer and the cutting of the blaster went deeper in the glass. After fire polishing, these ridges caught the light in a way that the shallower flash could not. So the gold pink layer of glass will catch light from much more acute angles. The predominance of orange comes when the gold pink and yellow layers overlap. The layers are sand-blasted, which takes away the thin layer of color but gives the glass a frosty texture. The glass the must be fire polished by heating in a kiln just to the melting point (about 1350 degrees fahrenheit) to return it to a shiny, transparent, glassy state.
	The Source Panel This is the panel of which I took a photo in 1992. from Second Presbyterian Church of Chicago The Crown of Thorns from The Five Scourges by William Fair Kline
the original photo	The Source Photo This photo was taken in 1992 while attending a conference of the Stained Glass Association of America in Chicago.This was a window in one of the churches on the bus tour. At the time I made the panel, I didn't even remember from which church. I just remember I liked the wild eyed expression on the face of the figure. The photo is out of focus - a common enough plight in trying to photograph stained glass on the fly. But if you look closely, you might notice it's also double exposed. I had inadvertently rewound and shot over a roll of film that was in the camera. Hence, the double-exposure. It was a surprise, but I was really quite happy with the results.
the computer print	The Process - 1 Photoshop Work I took the photo, scanned it and then reduced the individual channels to a black and white image (no grey tone) to acheive the artwork to make the screen for printing the sandblast resist. The liquid resist used was common white glue. It doesn't hold up very well under heavy blasting, but does enough on most flashed glasses. There are other methods of transferring making a resist for sandblasting, of course. The one I have not used but many swear by is the film resist from Rayzist. This is what the final color print, with the CMYK channels.
Black and White Channels	The Process - 2 These are the the black and white channels that represent the Cyan, magenta, yellow and black print colors and what translate into the different layers of glass.