Amy Shannon is always eager to find “out of the box” learning opportunities for her art students at Iola High School.
She called Abigail St. Clair’s stained glass window project a perfect example of learning outside the box — and the classroom.
St. Clair, with a helpful assist from her grandfather, Iolan Glen Singer, created a stained glass creation that greets First Christian Church members as they enter the foyer of the worship center in Iola.
The 33-inch by 44-inch window depicts Jesus with a small lamb cradled in one arm, walking alongside a larger sheep.
The project served two purposes — it completed a planned stained glass display in the church’s entrance area, paired with another piece created years ago by the late Sharon Setter; and with Shannon’s permission, served as St. Clair’s primary semester art project.
“We really have to thank Mrs. Shannon for allowing us to do this project,” Singer said.
Shannon, meanwhile, deflected her praises, sending it to Principal David Grover, who gave final approval, and to St. Clair and Singer for their work.
“The most important part for me was that afterward, Abbey was able to walk me through the process, explaining exactly how they came up with the finished product,” Shannon said. “It looks fantastic.”
The project’s genesis came from a discussion last December with St. Clair and Singer about the panel display at the church.
The first panel had been a part of a display at the old Christian Church in downtown Iola, courtesy of funding made available by the estate of former church members Howard and Bertha Cation, however Setter died before she could create the second piece.
Singer, who has dabbled in stained glass art for the better part of 25 years, was asked to take up the project.
“We thought it would be a neat class project, so we got permission and went to work,” Singer said.
St. Clair did most of the work herself, from picking out the pattern, selecting the colored glass panels, meticulously tracing over and cutting the glass for the individual pieces to fit, and finally soldering the pieces together, applying nitric acid to stain the aluminum and waxing the window for the finished product.
The work was done in Singer’s art studio in his basement.
And while her grandfather was there to help, he noted that St. Clair had the final day on any design questions.
“I questioned her about some of the colors, but she insisted on these,” Singer said, “and thankfully so. She definitely proved herself to be right.”
