Gargoyles

Wasserspier is the German word for gargoyle, and it is so much fun to say! (Almost as fun as the German word for ambulance.) At any rate, those little uglies served a dual purpose in medieval architecture. The gargoyles we are studying were part of a system of guttering that removed water from the rooftops of the cathedrals constructed in the Middle Ages. Many had channels cut into their backs that extended the guttering. (And, since they were typically located far above the tree tops, one assumes that leaves collecting in the gutters were not a problem. Although I can guess that the occasional bird would build a nest in an inconvenient place and clog up the works.)

The legend of the gargoyle is this:

"A French legend that sprang up around the name of St. Romanus ("Romain") (AD 631–641), the former chancellor of the Merovingian king Clotaire II who was made bishop of Rouen, relates how he delivered the country around Rouen from a monster called Gargouille or Goji. La Gargouille is said to have been the typical dragon with batlike wings, a long neck, and the ability to breathe fire from its mouth. There are multiple versions of the story, either that St. Romanus subdued the creature with a crucifix, or he captured the creature with the help of the only volunteer, a condemned man. In each, the monster is lead back to Rouen and burned, but its head and neck would not, due to being tempered by its own fire breath. The head was then mounted on the walls of the newly built church to scare off evil spirits, and used for protection.^[4] In commemoration of St. Romain the Archbishops of Rouen were granted the right to set a prisoner free on the day that the reliquary of the saint was carried in procession (see details at Rouen)." ~Wikipedia.

Gargoyles were also a visual reminder of evil and the need for Christ when most could not read, and indeed had no access to books in the first place.  At any rate, they were ugly enough to scare people into behaving themselves.

Art Smart has another great project, so we are making clay gargoyles this week. Hopefully they will be full of interesting textures and details. Garlic presses are useful for hair; toothpicks make great carving tools, as do forks; and pressing bubble wrap into the clay should make for interesting skin.

Updated 10/7/11 to include photos of the girls' projects.

Stained Glass Windows

Stained glass has been adding splendor to the great cathedrals of Europe for a thousand years. The first one that came to my mind was Chartres Cathedral in France. Monet painted a series of paintings of Rouen Cathedral, but he did paint Chartres in 1830.

The windows at Chartres are typical of the cathedrals constructed during that time period. Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres, as it is known in French was built mostly between 1193 and 1250. Today, most of the stained glass is original, and few changes have been made since the 13th century. Below are the modern view of Chartres from the southeast, and the rose window on the north facade.

Fascinating post on Chartres Cathedral here.

Click here for a detailed identification of the figures in the window.

"As a material stained glass is glass that has been coloured by adding metallic salts during its manufacture. The coloured glass is crafted into stained glass windows in which small pieces of glass are arranged to form patterns or pictures, held together (traditionally) by strips of lead and supported by a rigid frame. Painted details and yellow stain are often used to enhance the design. The term stained glass is also applied to windows in which the colours have been painted onto the glass and then fused to the glass in a kiln." ~from Wikipedia.

For this project, we will be using Art Smart, by Susan Rodriguez. She suggests using squared black paper, folded in quarters to form the armature. Folding it like a snowflake would also work. After the shapes are cut from the paper, colored tissue paper or cellophane is glued to the back to color the work. It would be more visually appealing to cut two pieces of paper simultaneously and glue one to the back if the work is to be displayed in a window.

We have also made "glass" in colors that coordinated with our home and used them to stain the windows in the front door. We left them up for months and they provided privacy and a little bit of color. I took them down when I painted the outside of the front door red. Note to self: do that project again sometime. It was fun.

 
Updated 10/7/11 to include photos of finished projects.