Stained.

Agnus Dei II

Glass is all we're really made of and
Glass is all we'll ever be
Nothing there to be afraid of, we're
Both transparent, can't you see?
--Robyn Hitchcock, Glass

Lately, I've been thinking about stained glass artist Judith Schaechter every time Robyn Hitchcock's Glass comes up on my iPod. Then lo and behold Artblog reported a mountain of good news about Schaechter. With a solo show at her NYC gallery Claire Oliver in September and a commissioned piece for the opening of The Museum of Arts and Design it looks like Judith will be having a rocking autumn.


Mother and Child

Last year I had an amazing studio visit with the artist at her wildly tricked out home in Philly. While Schaechter's figures often appear frightened and lonely (and when not frightened and lonely, dead) the works they occupy are stunningly beautiful. The tension between what we expect of the decorative and what the glass holds is palpable. The attention to and achievement of her palette is remarkable, layering color over color in glass until she finds her final destination, the scorched earth of our dreams.


Come to think of it, the last stanza of the Hitchcock song is a better fit for Schaechter's stained glass wonders . . .

Glass protects you but glass can shatter
Hear the sirens, hear the screams
In the end though nothing matters 'cause
No one else can see your dreams

For real.