Macro Detail of Chipped Slab Glass and Epoxy Frame, Mary, Mother of Priests Chapel

Description

A macro photograph detailing individual chunk-glass elements embedded in a dark structural matrix at the Servants of the Paraclete chapel in Jemez Springs, New Mexico.

The image highlights:

The Central Prism: A triangular piece of clear, thick slab glass features distinct, sweeping ridges. These curves are a textbook example of a conchoidal fracture, which happens naturally when glass is struck sharply with an artisan's hammer to maximize its light-refracting surfaces.

Warm Inclusions: The top and bottom corners show slices of dense, amber-rose glass. Their textured, wavy surface patterns suggest the glass was cooled quickly during the hand-pouring process, locking in those unique variations.

The "Lead" Alternative: The dark, granular frame surrounding the chunks is the epoxy resin or cement matrix. Unlike traditional lead came, this mixture expands and contracts at a rate similar to the thick glass, protecting the chapel windows from the freezing winters and scorching summers of the high-desert mountain environment.

The clear chunk in the center almost acts like a prism when framed like this. Do you find yourself drawn more to these high-contrast structural shots, or do you prefer the saturated colors of the fully backlit glass chunks?