The weather has played a major part in our plans recently. It seams like every time we plan work onsite that either a hurricane or tornado comes over the horizon. I have made several visits to Hillside Methodist Church, Brinscall near Chorley in Lancashire recently to make patterns for toughened glass protective glazing over the stained glass windows only to be faced by the worst the elements can throw at me. When you are 30ft up a scaffold making paper patterns to transfer onto hard board the last thing you need are strong winds and rain. The paper just blew around my hands and then turned into soggy mush, not very productive.
I had more success with a trip to Dovers Green School in Surrey, to fit the new stained glass window I had designed with help from the year 2 children. We worked together to come up with ideas and stained glass designs to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the school. The result is a stunningly beautiful and colourful design with a bold rainbow, flowers, sun and even a helicopter. The head teacher, class teacher and children were all delighted with the window which I encapsulated into triple glazed unit made from toughened glass and fitted into the space above the main door to the large dining hall in the school. This type of school project is a real joy for me. To help the children to use their great ideas to come up with the design for their own window is just fantastic. I also showed the children how to make a small stained glass window of their own by using plexiglass, coloured film and strip lead to make up their design. The school put the finished windows on display in the windows of the hall along with a display of the art project. The Head Teacher, Sue Hillman, was very complimentary about the window and the whole project saying that she would recommend me to anyone who asked. Very kind, thank you all at Dovers Green School!
