Midge Scanlan of Icarus Glass
Not a potter, not a weaver, not a jewelry maker. Twenty three years ago Midge Scanlan rejected these traditional craft trades as being too commonplace and their products too temporary. She did, however, want to join the renaissance of craft work taking place at the time. A newspaper article describing the art of stained glass as a dying art directed her to what was to become her chosen career. Pots break, woven clothing goes out of style and jewelry is too personal, she felt, but well designed stained glass windows endure for decades, and even survive wars. Midge found this quality of performance over time very attractive. She bought books, tools and materials and dove in, at first making what she describes as "a lot of clumsy work".
Clumsy is not what comes to mind while viewing the pages of Midge's portfolio. A glowing pumpkin, the most delicious orange possible, peers from beneath a gracefully curving leaf, apple blossoms and birds shimmer across a eight foot memorial panel, a saint holds a sacred heart. This expertise is the result of years of practice executing all the many steps from design to installation that produce finished stained glass window. After a lengthy collaboration with a client, Midge produces a final drawing. Next a full size paper cartoon of the drawing is made and altered to represent all the pieces of glass that will be cut. A second full sized drawing is made to detail where the shading will go. The glass is selected and cut to fit each shape until the cartoon is completely covered with glass pieces. Each piece must be ground to fit exactly into the puzzle of the cartoon. If the finished window will have painted glass sections, the first of these layers, outline lines called trace lines are painted with "paint" that is like a potter's glaze made of binder and powdered glass. The painted glass is fired in a kiln, melting the paint and binding it permanently to the glass.
During the next phase, Midge's partner, Fred takes over and, working from her second full sized drawing, airbrushes delicate layers of paint to show rounded forms. "My job is to make the lines go away" he explains, "to soften and shade the area next to them." Although stained glass paint is traditionally limited to shades of brown or black, Fred also uses blues, and reds to mix a surprising range of colors. Against the translucent glass the paint depicts faces, flowers and folds of drapery, working with the color of the glass to create a range of shades. This glass painting is by no means a "what you see is what you get" process. Up to 20 % of the paint may burn off during a firing. Until enough layers of paint have built up to properly complete the design, the careful painting and firing is repeated. Finally, each piece is wrapped in copper foil or lead or zinc came, and soldered to its neighbor.
Recently relocated from Rochester Vermont to Montpelier, Midge's company Icarus Glass including partner and airbrush artist Fred Wildt, has expanded to include two other employees. The company produces a range of work from production work suncatchers, residential stained glass windows, to recent work with memorial windows. Ironically, upon resuming her business in Montpelier, Midge focused on perfecting her technique with deeply etched or carved glass. She built a custom sandblasting cabinet and began creating a line of deep carved freestanding panels. It was her painted work, however, and a two week ad in a local paper that attracted Rock of Ages to Icarus Glass. Rock of Ages, the largest granite company in the granite capital of the world needed someone to design and produce stained glass windows for mausoleums. Icarus Glass found itself uniquely qualified to meet these requirements combining Midge's experience with design and Fred's expertise with airbrushing. This association with Rock of Ages has brought artistic challenges and a steady supply of commissions.
As with her residential work, Midge works closely with clients during the design of a piece, soliciting their suggestions about significant images and interpreting them into a personal and meaningful design. "I find that the commission of a stained glass piece is something that is not done lightly. Usually, the client will have considered over a long time, what colors and images they would like to see in such a piece. My job is to listen carefully." The process of designing a piece becomes a collaboration between Midge and the client which is finished only when both parties agree. In response to the association with Rock of Ages, Midge's subject matter has changed from floral and geometric forms to the ecclesiastical.
Her current project is a piece for Rock of Ages's largest mausoleum. It shows a side view of an angel in a billowing gown playing a lute surrounded by a border of roses and carnations. Its one of the biggest project Midge has ever worked on and will find a final resting place in West Palm Springs Florida. While we are treated to a seemingly unending parade of gray days, at Icarus Glass, windows are being made that are filled with angels and surrounded by flowers in beautiful color as Midge Scanlan continues on the path she discovered twenty three years ago.
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