There is always an edge of the unknown when working with children in a design and make project. It is imposible to know what is going to be the outcome when young people put their imagination to good use and apply it to something new. The windows have always been very different and show excellent use of colour and form. The experience has always been totally rewarding for the students, teachers and the artist from Classical Glass Ltd.
St Williams School, Great Lever, Bolton
'It has been my privilege to run a design project at St Williams School, Bolton. I have worked with the lively year 2 class, aged 6 and 7 years, and talked about the tragic loss of Mustafa, their class mate who died in an accident in May this year. We talked about what they remembered and loved about him and I encouraged them to put their ideas down in the form of pictures. The results have been amazing and I am going to make their designs into a stained glass window for the school as a lasting memorial to Mustafa. Life can be short and we need to treasure to time we have with our loved ones.'
Andrew Seddon, September Classical Glass 2008
New Stained Glass Art Project for St Williams School
'I am just starting on another Stained Glass Art Project. I will work with each of the 8 different year groups to design and make 8 stained glass windows for the special educational support room.
The theme is ‘An Under-Sea Adventure’ .
I am going to work with each class teacher to introduce the art of Stained Glass, how the windows are made and encourage the children to use their imagination to develop design ideas around the theme.
We are going to use different mediums to design the windows : coloured paper collage, paint, felt tip pens, tissue paper and coloured film will all be used to allow the children to get a feel for the blocks of colour and shapes that make up the stained glass windows. I will take the children’s work and then use it for inspiration to design a window for each class. I will then present the design to the children and we will discuss any modifications they fell are needed.
Once the designs are finalised I will work with my team of crafts people to make the stained glass windows using individual pieces of coloured glass joined with H section lead.
The finished window will be protected using toughened glass on both sides to make triple glazed units before fitting into the window frames.' Andrew Seddon, Classical Glass October 2008
Leverhulme Community Primary School, Breightmet, Bolton.
New windows celebrate the opening of the new school
School boy Kristian Fithergill , aged 10 , has had his design made into a stained glass window to celebrate the founding of his new school.
Levehulme School in Bolton opened its doors for the first time in september 2006 after two schools merged. Stained Glass Company Classical Glass Ltd stepped in with the offer to make a stained glass window to mark the opening of the new school and Maninging Director Andrew Seddon worked with the Head Teacher Mr Ashton, Class Teacher Mrs Draper and year 4 children to come up with the design ideas.
The design drawn by Kristian was chosen to be made into the stained glass for the front doors to the school. He was asked to unveil the window and said, "I am so happy that my design was chosen. The design shows a new start for the school."
Mrs Draper was very pleased with the result, "The children are all very proud that the window has been made as a result of their work. It gives them a great sense of ownership of the school." Newspaper Story : The Bolton News, September 2008
Cheadle Hulme School, Cheshire
Three stained glass windows with the school crest and rose design were completely restored before mounting in new light boxs. The beautiful arts and crafts style stained glass in the dining hall was repaired and cleaned
Mount St Josephs RC School, Farnworth
This window was born out of school art project, run by Andrew Seddon: Classical Glass, to design a
window to celebrate the centenary of the school.
Mr Seddon worked with a group of students who each designed a window. The most suitable design was chosen by the Head Teacher, Art Teacher and Mr Seddon. Each of the students were involved in the making of the window along side the craftsmen at Classical Glass to create the window from coloured glass to match the design.
The design has large graphics ‘MSJ’ for Mount St. Joseph’s School. The school motto is ‘Learners, believers and friends’ was id depicted at the top of the design with an open book, a white dove and embracing hands.
The Bishop of Salford, the Right Rev Terence John Brain, conducted the dedication of the window.
He can be seen here with the student who designed the window and representatives from Classical Glass, Andrew Seddon and Stephen Evans.
Ambrose Barlow RC High School, Manchester
This stunning window came from a school art project, run by Andrew Seddon: Classical Glass, to design a window to celebrate the millennium. The finished window was used as a backdrop to the alter in the new chapel in the RE study centre at the school.
Mr Seddon worked with a group of students who each designed a window. The most suitable design was chosen by the Head Teacher, Art Teacher and Mr Seddon. The craftsmen at Classical Glass then created the window from coloured glass to match the design. The stained glass encapsulated into a triple glazed unit made from toughened glass.
This wonderful design shows an image of the Holy Spirit as a dove over a background Sunburst design.