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PROPOSED DESIGN – DESCRIPTION
Annunciation, Visitation and Nativity
On the Left, the tight curl represents the immaculate conception. The Holy Spirit – in the form of a dove – lifts off as the curl widens and sweeps out. The miracle begins.
On the Right, Mary (blue) greets her cousin Elizabeth (turquoise). Elizabeth’s unborn infant John leaps in the womb and Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit (gold face) and prophesies.
Sweeping to centre, we see the new-born Jesus held in his mother’s arms. The fulfilment of promise – joy to the World.
In the centre trefoil above, the partially hidden face of Mary gazes in wonder at her infant. The face is also representative of the Hebrew midwives who faithfully and courageously obeyed God rather than Pharoah to let the boys live.
Blue and gold sweeps and curls over the windows. This represents the nature of the Son of God – fully God as well as fully man – in the intertwining of blue (human) with gold (God). It is also a picture of God’s dynamic presence and involvement in all creation.
The trefoil on the right has an upward gold movement speaking of the unstoppable purposes of God. Bullrushes remind us of Egypt and of Moses hidden in the basket by his mother – the beginning of another significant biblical rescue story.
Ivy is a symbol of faithfulness and I have included a veil of painted ivy leaves over much of the glass. Some of this painting will be detailed and distinct with a similar feel to the existing Victorian foliate pieces, and some will be soft and free. This visually uniting covering speaks of the faithfulness of Joan Greenwood as a remarkable person as well as her significant career, the faithfulness against the odds of the Hebrew midwives, the faithful submission of Mary, and the incredible faithfulness of God.
I plan to include the following partially hidden imagery: Annunciation lilies in the Left window; woven reeds as a glimpse of Moses’ basket in the Right trefoil; and a contented cat curled up with kittens in the bottom Right corner as a nod to Joan’s fondness of cats. Other little surprises may emerge during the making of the windows, and I am open to suggestions. One thing I have been considering is including some snippets of scripture in small writing. This could be hidden within the sweeps of the design and be only noticeable and readable when the windows are closely observed.
The windows will be leaded, using carefully selected handmade glass including some with subtle streaks of colour and naturally forming bubbles which sparkle in sunlight. Subtle but varied tints of greens and turquoises with some clear areas will set off the blues and golds, The traditional techniques I will employ are etching, painting, and staining.
