2 Pane of Death (34 page)

This form of glass art reached its peak with the Gothic cathedrals of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, when a better understanding of architectural structure allowed the walls to be opened up and filled with radiant glass panels.

A revived version of Gothic architecture became the dominant style in the middle and later nineteenth century, accompanied by a resurgence of the use of stained glass. This movement inspired the Englishman William Morris, who created his own firm in 1861 to provide home decoration. Stained glass was prominent in his workshop from the beginning.

At a time when mass-production techniques made glass available to a much wider market, Morris and his colleagues of the era believed that machine production was degrading and resulted in mass quantities of inferior goods. As a result, he became obsessed with craftsmanship and detail, as seen in many of the windows of his time. His example inspired a number of American crafts-men as well.

Art Nouveau, or “new art,” emerged from Europe and America at the end of the nineteenth century, a lingering reaction to the mass-produced designs of the Industrial Revolution as well as to Victorian traditions. The style, inspired by natural forms, emphasized sensuous curves and iridescent colors.

John La Farge and Louis Comfort Tiffany vie for credit for the invention of opalescent glass in the 1880s. Tiffany was one of the leading proponents of the new style, but he was also an innovator in glassmaking. He founded the Tiffany Glass Company in 1885 to complement his interior decorating company, and patented a new type of colored, opalescent glass known as “favrile.”

Tiffany is perhaps best known today for his glass lampshades, in which he combined the rich colors of his glass with intricate cutting and often layered glass to achieve varied effects. He developed a technique of using copper foil to hold the glass pieces together, rather than the traditional, heavier lead cames, which enabled him to take advantage of the new electric lighting.

William Morris’s ideas reached the United States through the Greene brothers on the West Coast, Gustav Stickley on the East Coast, and Frank Lloyd Wright in the Midwest. Wright popularized the Prairie Style and brought about a new integration of buildings with their landscape and furnishings. His open interiors were a perfect setting for glass doors and windows.

Wright emphasized simple, geometric patterns—parallel lines and smaller squares or circles, set with minimal leading. At least one of the houses he designed has over 100 leaded windows, and over the course of his career he designed more than 4,500 windows for 160 buildings, both private and public.

 

In a slow cooker, put the chicken, chopped onion, ancho chiles, oregano, garlic, and salt and pepper. Pour in the chicken broth to cover. Cook at low heat for 4 hours (more or less).

Remove the chicken breasts, shred them (when they’re cool enough to handle), and return them to the cooker. Add the beans and continue cooking for another hour (more or less).

Just before serving, add the cilantro and stir.

Serve over cooked rice. Serves 4.

 

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter, shortening, and sugar until creamy. Beat in the sour cream, vanilla, and egg.

In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add gradually to butter mixture and blend thoroughly.

Cover dough tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Divide the dough into quarters. Working with one portion at a time (keep the others refrigerated), roll out on a floured board to about ¼-inch thick. Cut out with a large cookie cutter (round is easiest, but you may use other ornamental forms). Transfer cut cookies to a greased baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch between them. Cut out the centers with a smaller cutter (again, any shape you like, but leave at least half an inch around the outside of the cookie).

If you wish to hang these cookies, make a small hole in the cookie through which you can thread a ribbon later.

Place the hard candies, by color, in small plastic bags. Place a towel over the bags and crush the candy by hitting it with a mallet or rolling pin.

Fill the holes in the cookies with the crushed candy, then bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned and the candy has melted.

Let the cookies cool completely, then twist gently to loosen from the cookie sheet and slide off.

Store in a single layer in an airtight container.

Makes about 2½ dozen, depending on size.