As glass painters, we focus on painting i.e. getting our paint onto the glass.
For instance those lovely trace-lines and gorgeous shadows:
But here’s a wonderful quote for you:
“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away”
It’s by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, who also wrote The Little Prince:
” … nothing left to take away”.
That’s why we call our foundation course Illuminate.
Because … well, the clue is in the name. Taking away – highlighting – is how you create stained glass which lifts your viewers’ hearts:
- You put paint on, which darkens your glass
- And then you take it off, you highlight it, which illuminates your glass and lets the light shine through
And each week inside Illuminate you’ll practise the most amazing highlights.
Each week: highlights really are that important.
And here now is an excerpt from a documentary we made in 2012, The Master & The Beast. I mention the year to explain why the film is sometimes grainy. Film quality has improved a lot since then.
Now watch how much the glass painter achieves with just a finger.
Even a beast becomes beautiful:
We call this process “softening the highlights”:
- You paint with a brush
- You make highlights with a stick
- You shade them with a finger – softened highlights
And then you fire.
As soon as you’re ready to learn more about lighting up your lines and shadows, we’d love you to join us for Illuminate.