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INTEGRATED EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

An important part of our practice is to collaborate/work in conjunction with Schools, providing an educational outreach as part of Fiona’s stained glass commissions.
This service can be offered as an integrated aspect of any commission where a community has a relationship to a chosen site for stained glass, allowing groups of adults and/or children to learn and share the skills involved in stained glass.

For instance, while designing and making a stained glass panel for a school we like to involve the children and staff in the decision making right from the beginning, collaborating in the design work and giving them hands on experience of making a leaded glass panel from start to finish.
Despite the technically sophisticated nature of stained glass manufacture we have developed a safe and accessible technique, allowing this involvement across a range of ages and abilities.

The course we usually take when conducting a project this way includes:

1. An introduction to the art of traditional stained and leaded glass with an illustrated talk and discussion on stained glass, followed by a practical look at glass design and all the contributing factors of making a panel.
2. The creation of a design project to stimulate contributions from a community and thereby provide the raw materials to inspire a final design for the glass window.
3. A series of workshops to introduce the technical aspects of making a stained glass window, including:
   
   SELECTING COLOURS.
   CUTTING GLASS.
   LEADING UP THE PANEL.
   SOLDERING LEAD.
   PUTTYING / BLACK LEADING / POLISHING.

A hands-on introduction to each of these skills provides an insight into a traditional craft in an enjoyable way and at the same time promotes ownership and responsibility for the finished window.
We have found that this integrated activity adds great and lasting value to a stained glass commission.