Tim Jaeger Lights Up Berkeley Chapel

Tim Jaeger in Berkeley Chapel

Many people who aren't religious say instead that they are spiritual. I can't even make that claim. Doing yoga is about as spiritual as I get. Nonetheless, I was eager to see the fused glass windows -- 41 in all -- created by artist Tim Jaeger for Berkeley Chapel in Tampa. They are glorious. 

Jaeger was the perfect person for the project, and not only because he's a talented artist. His father was an Episcopal minister for 40 years. Berkeley Chapel is part of Berkeley Prep School, a K-12 day school affiliated with the Episcopal Church. Sounds like a match made in heaven, right? But the job wasn't handed to Jaeger on a platter. He was initially contacted to see if he could suggest some artists who might be a good fit for the project. Although Jaeger had not previously created glass art, he had an immediately vision for the windows. He put together some drawings, met with the team and made his pitch. It was an easy decision. 

The Last Supper

Then the hard work began, starting with finding a glass artist with whom he could collaborate. Jaeger traveled the state looking for the right partner before finding James Piercey, an Orlando-based bio-chem teacher turned artist. The two were compatible in both artistic approach and temperament. The fit was crucial. Over the next two years, Tim left his Sarasota home most Saturday mornings by 4:30, rolled into Piercey's studio around 7, worked a full day and then headed home. This project was clearly a labor of love. (Note: Jaeger is also the Director and Chief Curator of Galleries + Exhibitions and an instructor at Ringling College, jobs he continued to do throughout this period.)  

The initial decision Jaeger and Piercey made was to go with fused glass rather than the more traditional stained glass. To create fused glass art, pieces of colored glass are stacked and fused (melted) in a kiln. Fused glass was appealing to Jaeger because the final product has a greater transparency than that of stained glass works. In addition, fused glass has an appearance more similar to that of a painting. Stained glass can have more the look of a puzzle or, as Jaeger said, a "paint by number" image. And here's a fun fact. Berkeley Chapel is the first chapel in the United States with all fused glass windows. 

Lord Krishna

Now to the creation of the windows, which I've hopefully gotten more or less right. While all this preliminary work was being done, Jaeger had been drawing potential images for the windows. Although Berkeley is an Episcopal school, students of all faiths, traditions and backgrounds have always been welcomed. Attendance at the student-led services is not required. (I asked.) But all students spend time in the chapel, which is also used as a meeting space. Jaeger believed it was important for everyone who stepped through the doors to see themselves in the windows. The school chaplain and a member of the advancement team (the ultimate decision makers) were also committed to this approach. And so he proposed images that derive their significance not only from Christian traditions. Once approval was given, the complicated process of getting an image from the drawing board to its place on a window began. 

Making any fused glass work is a multi-step process. It's even more complicated when creating windows rather than a stand-alone piece. Before working with the glass, Jaeger had to ensure each scene would fit properly on its canvas; i.e., the applicable window. To do this, a digitally created version was transferred onto a transparency the size of the window being created and laid on a large light table. Then a faux frame was placed over the image to ensure none of the faces or other crucial parts of the picture would be covered by a mullion. The devil is in the details. 

Buddha

Finally, it was time to get to work with the glass. Professional artists typically don't just squeeze paint out of a tube and apply it to a canvas. Instead, they mix their paints on a palette to get just the right hue. Similarly, fused glass artists play with different combinations of colored glass to find the desired shade. When the "recipe" for a particular color had been perfected, the glass was ready to be fused and, ultimately, cut in the desired shape.

Once the glass had been fired, Jaeger often embellished the image with a "line treatment," i.e., strokes of black paint like those seen in this image of Buddha. (Note: You can see the lines more clearly if you expand the image by clicking on it.) Jaeger said this was the most nerve-wracking part of the process. One wrong stroke and the entire pane could be ruined. Yikes! Happily, he had a steady hand to supplement his artistic vision. 

At the end of the day, the finished windows include more than 400 individual panes of glass, each weighing 15-20 pounds. Piercey's kiln could accommodate three or four panes at a time depending upon their shape and size. At 12+ hours per firing, the kiln was running pretty constantly for two years. Amazingly, no panes were broken during either the firing or installation processes. If something does happen to a window in the future, detailed records have been created to ensure any pane can be replicated. And in case you're wondering, hurricane glass has been installed to protect the windows -- and the chapel -- against potential storms.

What a treat it was to see the windows and hear about how the project came together. Click here to see a video that better captures what the windows look like in person. Thanks to Tim for his generosity in giving us a tour of this special project. For more on Jaeger's art, click here.