A history of stained glass art at Brisbane Girls Grammar Sch

his health had started to intrude as he was working on the project and diagnosed with cancer, since

suffering endless health complications. He continued:

I see Jennifer’s’ design, and this might be reflecting some of where I am at this point in my

life, and what shall we say the “waters of life” - people travelling through their existence over

a stormed tossed sea. And you’ll no doubt see this in the great swirls of rich dark violet indigo

blue glass which travel right across the base of the four windows that make up this complete

piece. And emerging from this, and this is where I saw it as very appropriate for the School,

are climbing, swirling rays of light and beauty which are the opportunities given us in life as

we travel by God and also by our own endeavours and by what is given us as children as we

are brought up and educated, and as we move through life.

So, I hope that people will see some of that - the dark storm-tossed waters, the problems

that we all face in life. I think very few of us go through and have a fantastically wonderful

life. Whether the problems come earlier or later, they will come but we rise above them. And

you will see these endless swirling rises out of the darkness, out of the depths of difficulties,

problems, mundane, boredom, whatever you like to read into it - wonderful, sparkling

rewards, wonderful spiritual enlightenments and growth.

The power of the windows created by Andrews and Blair in the former library building at the School

is quite evident. From the outside, the functional unadorned 1970s architecture of the building gives

nothing away of what is to come. As you move into the foyer and look back you are confronted by a

stunning panorama of a range of colours of stained-glass, with the yellow, oranges, reds, purples and

blues of the Creativity Window shining on the right, and the powerful deep blues, violets and reds of

the Metamorphosis Window shimmering on the left - all accentuated by the starkly white walls of

the foyer.

A distinguishing feature of the windows is their sense of movement and tactility. The windows

radiate energy and power, qualities which even modern digital photography fails to adequately

capture – you need to stand in front of them to really appreciate their brilliance. Blair achieves their

extraordinary effect not simply through Andrew’s superb design, which strongly denotes movement

reflecting the theme of “striving” and personal achievement, but also through technically brilliant

use of materials.

For both Warwick and Jennifer, the stained-glass window projects at Brisbane Girls Grammar School

were explorations of new directions. While each had worked in this medium before, working

collaboratively unveiled new thoughts and practices and for Warwick it was a reinvigoration of his