Leon Milmeyster – Glass Artist

Stained glass is a unique and dynamic art media since it can only work in conjunction with light and is drawing its life force from light’s constantly changing and perpetually varying intensity and angle. Not only does the stained glass react to the light transmitted through it, but it also responds to the light reflected off the glass back into the environment. Human emotions and our very lives are highly dependent on sunlight, which affects us in a variety of ways. It plays a crucial role in creating physical food that feeds our bodies and it also feeds our spirits and souls by bringing us closer to the universal, eternal and divine. Color and light are organically “understood” by human psyche. Stained glass, which is a natural vessel and delivery conduit for light, has a peaceful and calming effect that has been known for centuries and was used all over the world for its capacity to bring forth spiritual feelings in viewers.

While the technical aspect of putting the design components together is extremely challenging and rewarding, Leon finds his true artistic satisfaction in the "engineering" of the human emotions evoked by the completed work. He selects glass and develops the design for every commission based on each client’s individual work or home environment and life style, for example the time of the day they will be most likely spending in the room, where the panel is installed. The most beautiful stained glass panel which was designed to work with the bright daylight passing through it, will be of very limited value for a family who usually works during the day and is never home to enjoy the effect of this panel. In such a case, the selection of the glass and the panel design should be personalized and adjusted for a “night viewing”, for example built from the iridescent, rippled glass to capitalize on its ability to gather internal electric light infuse it with color and reflect it back into the room.

One of the “tricks” used by the artist is to position the textured glass in the panel in such a way that it will "catch and trap” in itself the maximum amount of light based on the location of the panel. For example, in a window facing rising or setting sun Leon will arrange the glass so that the orientation of textured lines is horizontal. Then, during sunrise and sunset the changing angle of sunlight will create different impressions from the textured glass and the same panel will look differently every minute. The goal is create vibrant impression from the panel when viewed in the morning and calming impression from the panel viewed at night. His clients often tell Leon that they feel revitalized and invigorated by the harmony of colors from the light of the rising sun, while the same panel will reflect their philosophical mood and promote the calm and peaceful feelings in the evening. Another “trick” is to use "water" glass in the panels that will be used in the windows exposed to the sunlight during the day. Leon always tries to illustrate for the clients the effect "water" glass has on the surrounding environment, so he carries in his portfolio a number of images of different combinations of "water" and other textured glass, as well as pictures of rooms illuminated by the sun passing through the textured stained glass windows during the daylight and at the sunset.

Glass has a magical property of not only transmitting and reflecting the light but, what’s most important, of crystallizing, magnifying and reflecting back onto a viewer his or her mood and emotions in an array of unexpected shades of colors. On many occasions his clients have told Leon that they like to meditate in front of their stained glass panel at sunrise and sunset. The acknowledgement is certainly very gratifying for the artist, though not at all surprising, since the peaceful and calming effect of stained glass panels has been known for centuries: this is one of the reasons why it has been so widely used in libraries, churches and temples around the world.

Leon has recently started expanding his techniques and venturing into different forms of glass art. He has created a unique line of dual purpose plates made of clear and colored fused glass, which can be used as designer table wear or as artful wall decorations. Leon also works with a number of glass artists who develop blown glass to his design and specifications. He converts a variety of American, Romanian, Czech and Venetian glass creations into custom lighting applications.