Summer Placements!!!

Just a quick post to fill you in on my next big adventure: The Summer Placement!  although called the summer placement, it actually starts in the beginning of May and will last for 18 weeks. I will be sharing 2 placements with another student, Paul, who also has a family and needs to stay in the York area. (other students are going to Wells, Glasgow, New York, Belgium, and Germany) We will do 9 weeks each at the York Glaziers Trust and The National Railway Museum.

I am particularly excited about the York Glaziers Trust. I have longed to work with the "YGT" for over 8 years. In 2003 when we were visiting York Minster, I asked myself  "how does a person get to work there?!" Well, here I am 8 years later fulfilling that dream! At the time, the program that I am in didn't actually exist; it's only in its third year.  It pays to be persistent!

The York Glaziers Trust cares for the glass in York Minster, (see photo of Chapter House above) which spans 800 years of glass-making, beginning in the early 13th century. Their current main project is the conservation of the Great East Window, which was made by the Master Glazier John Thornton and his workshop in the early 15th century. It is well documented that the window was originally completed in three years, however the current restoration is expected to take ten! The Great East Window is the largest expanse of Medieval stained glass in the world! I will be lucky to get an up close look at it, and maybe they'll let me watch while they work on it. I wouldn't expect to personally work on it at this stage in my education. But I do hope to learn alot from the team at YGT. I have met a few of the staff before, and in fact, Nancy who was my lecturer for Basic Glass Handling from last term, is now working there. I start May 3rd!! Here's a few more photos of the Chapter House at York Minster...

Beautiful, hand painted Chapter House floor tiles

                                          Chapter House Painted Ceiling

Gilded Ceiling Boss

Colored Narrative Bands alternating with Bands of Grisaille Glass

Eight Hundred-year old glass

More amazing floor tiles...

OK, so I think you get the idea. I am soooo excited to be working with the YGT this summer!

Although surprised to be also working with the National Railway Museum, I feel like I will be getting a bonus for my resume and experience; other students will only be at one workshop or museum, so I am lucky to be getting more than one experience. You may be wondering what the National Railway Museum has to do with glass? I was thinking the same thing. As I discovered, the National Railway Museum in York houses all of the memorabilia associated with Britain's long railway history, in addition to the wonderful collection of trains. The collection goes back to the great days of rail travel. Prior to the World Wars, the rail system in Great Britain was a multitude of private companies, vying for the public's attention and business. The competition meant that they tried to out-do each other in luxurious boardrooms, trains, and platform amenities, like tea rooms and restaurants. The stained glass collection comes from this era.  After the World Wars, the whole system was brought into the fold of the national government.  While at the museum, I will be focusing on collections management, which will be a great thing to have on my resume. (think Walters Art Gallery, Smithsonian...) Here are a few pictures from the museum. These are from a quick trip that Sofia and I made, before I knew about my placement, hence no glass...

Door handle from a Royal train

The Royal tassles!

Sofia and Thomas the Tank Engine

I'll end there, but stay tuned for more happenings. I promise to write more, and more often!
xo Clare