Glass painter finds inspiration in trip home

Press, 15 October 1986, Page 22

Glass painter finds inspiration in trip home

A three week seminar on architectural stained glass in Germany has provided new inspiration for the Christchurch' Arts Centre’s resident glass artist, Rena Jarosewitsch.

The seminar was held at the Hein Derix Studio in Kevelaer in West Germany, a internationally recognised glass studio. Exercises, lectures on technique and visits to see examples of stained glass on site were all part of the course.

Rena Jarosewitsch found the trip to her native country an ideal chance to discuss designs with other designers.

“I don’t really have that chance in New Zealand because there are not so many designers. After the seminar I spoke with one designer about my projects and was able to discuss designs.”

She found it difficult to assess her own work in terms of what is happening in Germany where stained glass is very strong. New buildings must have a budget allocation for artworks and often that is spent on a stained glass window or windows.

“There is a lot of contemporary work being done,” she said.

Among the stained glass artists whose work was studied on the seminar were Meistermann, Schaffrath, Schreiter and Klos. The seminar leader was Jochem Poensgen.

The class visited churches and buildings to see windows on site. “It is only on site that you can see the window in a true perspective,” Rena Jarosewitsch believes. The visits gave the students an opportunity to speak with the designers of the windows and question them about themes. Several of the leading designers in Germany are now in their mid 50s. Although they came from the same time their work differs greatly and the variety amazed the Christchurch glass worker. Having done her own study in design in West Germany, she enjoyed visiting the historic stained glass windows of the country. “After the war there was a lot of rebuilding and a lot of stained glass work done in churches.” In 1980 Rena Jarosewitsch worked on church windows in Bonn and the following years in West Berlin. She came to New Zealand in 1983 and worked first in Auckland. In 1984 she set up the Arts Centre Glass Studio. The studio is doing well 1 and gets plenty of visitors in its second level site. The artist is busy at present with a commission for the R.N.Z.A.F. museum at Wigram. One aspect she enjoyed most about her trip overseas was meeting up

with a Canadian glass artist, Stephen Taylor, who settled briefly in New Zealand earlier this year. He returned to Canada several months ago and Rena Jarosewitsch, who had studied architectural designs with him in New

Zealand, visited . him in Toronto. She also visited New York glass galleries and museums. She has a slide lecture of stained glass work planned at the C.S.A. Gallery in December.