Summer Solstice Event at Calvary United Methodist Church
971 Beech Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15233
6:00 PM – Doors open
6:30 PM – Remarks on Tiffany windows and concert produced by Poets Corner Arts while the sun sets through the windows
8:30 PM – Refreshments and social in the 1895 Victorian chapel
$25 in advance (go to http://www.showclix.com/event/SunsetThroughTiffanys )
$30 at the door (cash or check only)
Sponsored by Preservation Pittsburgh and Poets Corner Arts
Proceeds benefit Preservation Pittsburgh and Poets Corner Arts
For further information, please call 412-231-2007 or email info@preservationpittsburgh.org
Louis Comfort Tiffany changed the physics of making stained glass in America by re-creating the medieval techniques of using solid stained glass instead of painting on glass to create glass designs. He added additional techniques of twisting the glass to get new colors, throwing confetti made of glass onto molten glass, and sandwiching up to five pieces of glass behind each other in a single composition.
And here in the North Side of Pittsburgh, we have Tiffany’s three largest windows executed between 1894-95. The subject matter for his windows was chosen by Calvary Methodist Church patrons, but the design was done by the artist. Women in his shops made most of his windows.The Resurrection window is on the northwest side of the church. At the summer solstice, light through the magnificent window is at its peak during the year. Due to the physics of refraction, Tiffany’s layered glass changes colors only when the sun comes through at unique angles, such as on Solstice. The Resurrection window has everything – layered glass ,confetti glass in the dappled tree leaves, streamer glass ,and drapery glass…as well as the three panels being a “time-lapse” of events on the day of the resurrection. The Jesus figure, which for most of the year is walking out of an Allegheny Cemetery-like mausoleum, appears suspended on a cross of gold which extends down the steps and transforms the Roman soldiers from blue armor to silver and gold. In the other sun-swept window of the Parousia, the angels wings seem to flutter as they change colors before your eyes.
While the concert music by Poets Corner is playing, you can see this happen this year on June 20. The collection plate for the church used by Charles Scaife, the Joseph Horne family and Shea families will also be on display. Afterwards is a reception with refreshments by Fabled Table. Click on the attachment to receive your invitation to the event. You may order your tickets online. The event is sponsored in order to raise funds to continue advocacy for saving the endangered religious structures in and around Pittsburgh.
