- The
Dana Thomas House in Springfield, Illinois was
built from 1902 to 1904. It is the largest
complex of buildings that Wright designed and
includes a residence, courtyard, and library. The
Dana Fountain Window is located in the main
residence. The original window is directly above
a large interior fountain and is flanked by a
mirror image glass panel. This window includes
two sumac plants of varying lengths. The plants
have an upward motion and seem to be growing up
into the window. These designs are shaped like
arrows, which again gives the appearance of a
growing motion. While the sumac plant is obvious
in the design, Wright has abstracted the plants
so much that they are geometric in form typical
of his style.
-
- This
work uses colonial cames that are profile shaped
in the finished piece and give a fine line to the
caming. This caming is shaped like two arrowheads
(base to base) and therefore every cut must be
mitered. Each joint involves eight mitered cuts
and must be an exact angle in order to avoid any
gapping in the came. Wright chose a decorative
border for this piece shaped much like the
colonial came. Using these materials allows the
creation of fine outlines throughout the piece.
The glass used in the original window was all
imported from Europe. It included clear glass,
flash opal, and iridescent. Currently,
Oakbrook-Esser Studios imports the clear and
flash opal glass from Europe and manufactures the
iridescent glass for the reproduction window
using the same hand-rolled process and chemical
treatments they believe were originally used.
This pane of art glass has a finished and
mechanized look due to the geometry and precision
of the angles. However the actual process
includes extensive handwork in cutting the many
glass pieces, mitering the caming, and piecing
all of these items together.
