Lance has long wanted to see Ely cathedral. It is a place Mike knows well, and we would both say how Ely and the cathedral are well worth the visit. But this blog is specifically about the Stained Glass Museum, located within the cathedral.
Mike has previously dabbled in stained glass, and has an understanding about how it is made and its history. So taking Lance there was a real delight. Then, within the museum itself, to find this light table for grown older men to play with. (Or perhaps was it another of these museum play things for children. More likely, we guess.) As you can see, Mike just couldn’t keep his hands off the gloriously coloured plastic cubes and Lance, always with an eye for a striking visual, was away with his camera.
The museum has rejuvenated Mike’s enthusiasm to work with glass again. The museum has some stunning pieces, not least of which Sainte Adelaide by gay artist Kehinde Wiley. Who would of thought denim could be stained on glass? Wow! There are quite a few modern glass pieces along with the historical church pieces. It makes you realise how simplistic, and too often rather mundane in comparison, some of these graphic architectural glass effects are in modern buildings. Whereas truly beautifully crafted glass as windows is something amazing to behold. We were also lucky to have sunlight streaming through the Octagon tower during our visit.
Through this visit, Mike has definitely rekindled his interest in glass along with our use of ceramic and video projections, and to do some more stained glass work. There is something about light through glass which definitely helps ignite the inner spiritual experience and we want that to be part of our work.