The Glass Pilgrim

I began The Glass Pilgrim with the desire to see a specific medieval window in person, and the question of what might happen if I tried to understand it, and the history in between its making and now, through my own craft. I might not be able to visit it, but I can express my wonder, curiosity, awe, and inquiry into its history through a representation of its importance. By giving it my time, I honor the time it has stood, and the meaning it has borne to so many others. This journal captures my thoughts and illuminations as I translate stained glass—its figures, colors, ornament, history, and changing light—into a contemporary quilt. By tracing the craft knowledge that connects one material tradition to another, I tie myself to that history. I am approaching the work as both research and experiment: reading, traveling, drawing, questioning, testing, and sometimes failing. It is a modern pilgrimage through the heritage of craft, using the paradox of AI to learn new skills, gain understanding, and pursue history, while engaging in the art of making slowly.

The pilgrimage is less about arriving at an answer than learning along the way: looking closely enough that old glass, heritage skills, and unfamiliar ways of making begin to reveal what hurry misses.