Journal 9: Stained glass

Stained glass windows are a traditional, historical text that is used to represent and convey biblical or artistic storylines. They are designed to tell a story whether it is fiction or non-fiction. The designers spend hours, days, and years to create a composition that can stand the test of time. The long-lasting text of stained glass windows can be created to have different interpretations depending on the context in which they are viewed. Stained glass windows also represent a text due to the tone, and layout of a window. A placement of any component in the window can affect the audience’s personal meaning of the window. Stained glass has been created and made for centuries, and the historical context in which they were created has gradually been a major factor for the meaning of the windows. The techniques including the shading of the colors on the stained glass, and the way that the light shines through the window at any particular time in the day or even at night can all be a major factor in which an audience can change the meaning to the composition of the stained glass windows.
The historical context in which an audience views stained glass windows is a major factor in the interpretation of the text. The Tiffany Chapel now found in Morse Musuem in Winter Park Florida has been relocated five times over the course of the years since it was originally built for the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The Tiffany Chapel, therefore due to the relocations has changed the meaning of it’s stained glass windows over the course of the years. The Chapel was originally built as a display for people to visit and enjoy, and to see improvements upon stained glass window making.
· “The various windows used in the chapel are marked examples of Tiffany glasswork, all the latest improvements and discoveries, both in glass, leads, and methods of construction. They are built upon what is called the mosaic system. In one window alone, there are more then 10,000 separate pieces of glass. No paints or enamels have been used in these windows except in the flesh of various figures.” ("The Tiffany Chapel" 4)
The original meaning from the chapel then changed as it was removed from the world’s exposition to the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company in New York for two years. The stained glass and rest of the chapel, however, was then placed in The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York. The Chapel was placed in the basement crypt, and likely did not get much sunlight, but was used as a chapel for services. The stained glass windows were then placed in a setting that allowed them to be viewed for audiences as a religious context. The worlds exposition had originally been used to make the windows appear for decoration, and for pleasure. As Tiffany is quoted, “A temple of art, not a place of worship.” ("The Tiffany Chapel" 8)Therefore, if the meaning of Tiffany’s words were applied to the new location of the Chapel in the Cathedral, then they were not supposed to be used for religious purposes. The chapel was eventually relocated to Tiffany’s house, and put on display in it’s own building near his house. In due course though, there was a fire after Tiffany’s death, and the chapel was distributed to new homes until the McKeans’ family rebuilt the chapel in Winter Park Florida at the Morse Museum. Due to the many moves however, the Tiffany chapel has changed meanings, and context over the course of the years since it has been built. The stained glass has changed texts over the years due to the location in which it was placed, such as a display of art, or a religious text.
Tone of the stained glass windows can be changed due to small factors such as the lighting during which the window is viewed, the exposure to weathering, texture of the glass, and the unique variations of colors. Shading is created to create a tone in the composition of stained glass. The colors of stained glass are created by using metallic oxides in the mixture of raw materials that make up the glass.
· “In terms of colour and form it is eccentric. Colour is abnormally bright since the light comes through the material instead of being reflected from the surface; tone is usually dictated by bounding leads or area joints of some kind. The whole thing is imprisoned within glazing bars that form an inexorable grid and are structurally necessary.” (Piper 8)
· “Among them are texture, the glow of rich colour, drama of tone and rectilinear or symmetrical arrangement of design. As to texture, it is an acquired characteristic, and a very important one; because its present condition was no part of it’s designer’s intention. A close examination of any fragment of early glass shows that a great deal of its present day effect is accidental, the result of a number of small accidents that build up to a total falsification of the original. There is always pitting of the glass which can be seen best outside; minute depressions- and sometimes bigger ones- have been made in the surface and have filled with dirt, so that the characteristic shading is produced, giving each piece a quality of details, making them seem more sensitive, often again more dramatic and full of bravura.” (Piper 14)
Stained glass is used for audiences to view artwork that has meaning, and is used for churches to tell biblical stories.
· “To the Church it was an invaluable teaching aid permanently communicating the essential elements of the Faith and its founders. Stories and personalities of the Bible could be shown to all in a form comprehensible to the majority who could not read or understand Latin.” (Cowen 4)











WORKS CITED
Cowen, Painton. A Guide to Stained Glass in Britain. London: Michael Joseph, 1985.
Piper, John M.. Stained Glass Art or Anti-Art. London: Reinhold Book Corporation, 1968.
"The Tiffany Chapel at the Morse Museum ."2006.

Journal 6: E-portfolio

My portfolio is a unique reflection of myself. My portfolio consists of facts about me, and pictures that fairly represent me. The papers I wrote as well are thorough reflections, by offering insights to entertainment or things that influence, and inspire me. These things are all part of who I am, and my beliefs. I want to present to my readers, and audience that I am an overall nice individual that has a lot of unique interests. I want to present ideas, and beliefs that a lot of people might find common, but have lost track of the simple things in life. I want to remind people of the simple things such as when they were children, and what was a major influence either subconsciously such as "The Lion King". Another issue that I try to illuminate in my papers is magazines and the effect they sometimes have on people. I am able to incorporate the Dove evolution project video to show that people exaggerate the truth of how people can look in magazines and ads. Having my portfolio online creates a new way to present my argument. Webpages offer a way to incorporate the ad into the paper, or visual support to enhance my paper and improve my argument. This video enhances my argument to the audience and allows them an easy access to understand what I am discussing in the paper.

I think that my portfolio for now is not organized well. I most likely have to many pictures, and I have too many different fonts on my webpage. I am reorganizing all of the website so that it is easier to read, and follow the papers, and the welcome page. I am including less fonts, but changing the typography to include bold, italic, and underlined fonts. This changes, and helps to create an emphasis on the parts of the papers, I would like to emphasize, but makes it more organized for the reader, and audience to follow.  Moreover, I am not sure if we were allowed to use the headings idea theme, for our papers, but I might include that in my final portfolio. In the McGraw Hill handbook, they state another good idea is to block off or block together thoughts, and ideas that are similar in context, and support. I am going to find a way to do this in my papers on my portfolio to make it easier for my audience to read. Having all of these options to present my paper online allows me to make more of a unique personal paper, that allows the audience to have a better insight to my thesis, and tone of my papers. The websites, also allow for photos to be placed long the narratives helping to make an impact on the audiences perspective.

Journal 8: Computers

"I had been in the game itself only a matter of minutes but I already knew that the people who played this game played it seriously. They were willing to dedicate hours and hours of their real lives to enhancing their virtual lives." (Hall 404) This is a statement made by Hall pertaining to the Second Life video game. Hall makes a valid point when it comes to technology. People can become obsessed when it comes to technology. As he states that people will sit in front of the computer or video games for hours, or writing their blogs, or finding the latest music, or researching for homework, or even reading news. The internet has become the worldwide place to access an infinite amount of information. A person does not need to leave their computer to watch a TV. show, work on homework, read the news, or play games. I agree with the two authors, because as technology has developed so has the form in which text, and literature is presented. Such as the bible, which was first hand-written, then printed in a book, and now many verses can be found electronically. The most culturally worldwide accepted method to obtain literature, and or text that is newly or historically written is the internet. The internet can sometimes be more successful in conveying a text than any other method. WebPages provide a more "sensual" approach to text. A person can upload songs to their webpage or blog allowing the sense of hearing to interact with the sense of sight. This can engage the reader to take a more active role in visualizing a narrative or factual storyline. A person is forced to associate a sound with a particular statement putting certain emphasize on the storyline.

I think that the use of technology has helped in this class to influence what I think, because I have been able to access other websites. This helps me to think in a more open manner, because I have to be able to adjust to reading my textbooks, or homework online in college. This class has helped me, by forcing me to read more articles, and examples of literature online. Moreover, I have been able to become a more technologically advanced individual. I have learned how to create my own text and manipulate it so that when a reader reads my piece they will have a better feel for the mood and tone I am trying to portray in my literature/ composition. The computers have influenced my writing by allowing me to see another form in which to present the text or composition. I only believe that computers have hindered my writing because the writing is more informal then formal. Therefore, there is less emphasis on grammatically correct sentences and more on the statements and presentation of the text. However, this can be made into a benefit, because I have learned how to better arrange my paper to flow more easily, and alternative ways to create a text that can be made to be universally read to people at any point in time or place.