Ripon Cathedral

Patchwork Windows by Sasha Ward

Cirencester Parish Church

I think I've found my favourite patchwork window ever, particularly the top left hand face that I spotted across the complicated interior of Cirencester Parish Church. It made me realise that it's the juxtaposition of images as much as the pattern making that is so appealing about these windows. My previous favourite was the one in Hereford Cathedral (below), where a hand skilled in design put together the section about Joseph's dream.

Pages from the Hereford Cathedral stained glass brochure (click to enlarge)

I've also admired windows put together by artists, like the one at Ripon Cathedral (below), featuring Kempe figures surrounded by beautiful Bridget Jones patterns in blue and sharp yellow. It has a huge impact from a distance and the modern glass is just as lovely as the old.

Pages from the Ripon Cathedral stained glass brochure (click to enlarge)

Although I occasionally make sheets of patterned glass to cut up for patchwork windows as if it were fabric, I really consider this to be cheating. My glass scrap boxes are full of pieces made as samples or ones that broke during manufacture. The birds below were fired in my first ever kiln for my first public commission. I don't know why they kept breaking - the result was a whole extra window.

My bird window, 1986

My bird window, 1986