After moving to Shropshire, Jane’s work was spotted by members of the Guild of St. Winefride who had been saving profits from the Shrewsbury Abbey Gift Shop to provide some sort of beautification for the Abbey.

Gray says: “When they saw my display they decided to commission a window dedicated to St. Winefride. The window was installed in 1992. It is quite a large one, six lights on two levels and it is in the north aisle of the Abbey.”

In 1990, Jane Gray had a commission for a window in St. Peter’s Church on Monkmoor Road, Shrewsbury, and went on to complete a memorial window for Sir David Offley Wakeman at St. Peter and Paul’s Church at Fitz in Shropshire and a window marking the 50th anniversary of the D-Day landings in St Mary’s in Chirk.

Jane has written Playing with Rainbows, a book starting with her enrolling as a student at the Kingston School of Art in 1949 and ending in 2010 with Jane still creating windows, as she says “while I still have my health and strength I will carry on working in the medium I love”.

The book, published by Ellingham Press in Much Wenlock, is available now from Amazon UK, and will soon be available from Amazon.com.

And before you say that coloring books are for kids, I can tell you now that this coloring book is for adults, maybe a talented teenager.  Mandalas Stained Glass Coloring Book is just one of a huge selection of stained glass coloring books for adults that Dover carries.  You can research them on Amazon by just clicking the link above, and you will be amazed at the broad spectrum of stained glass ideas.

This is a great way to research stained glass patterns for your home, or just create an enjoyable outlet for anyone you know who loves color, glass, or mandalas.

If you are not familiar with mandalas, they are known to be both physically and spiritually soothing for the psyche.  And even if that belief is not for you, they are just fun to look at and color.  Most mandalas are made from extremely intricate designs, geometric, floral, fantasy, animal, or abstract.  Part of the attraction of mandalas are the round shape, and the repeating patterns.

Coloring can be not only a fun activity, but a therapy of sorts for many types of troubled minds.  Coloring mandalas is a good exercise for the elderly, or the unruly teenager.  Another use for these books is to decide on color schemes for your actual stained glass designs or patterns.

For more stained glass coloring books, go here.

Just by adding a stained glass window or window decoration in your home, you can add to the decor, and value of your home.  There are several ways that you can add stained glass to a home.

Stained glass transom windows can be added to a front entrance to welcome visitors with color and beauty. These windows are timeless and will bring warmth and charm to your house throughout the year. They can be placed above or on either side of the front door and come in many different styles and sizes. Adding a colorful transom stained glass window array to your front entry will  make it one of a kind.

Stained glass is also a creative way of bringing art into your bathroom spaces. Placing a window in your shower or over your bathtub creates a relaxing ambiance as well as maintaining privacy. Privacy is one thing people do not usually think about when they are considering stained glass, but it is a valuable aspect in a bathroom setting.

Most kitchens are on the exterior of a house where there are a lot of windows.  This makes a kitchen a natural for stained glass windows or hangings.  Homeowners love bright, colorful kitchens and including a stained glass window is clearly a way to enhance that.   In addition, stained glass can be included in cabinetry to replace or instead of wooden cabinets.  Skylights are another possibility for stained glass in a kitchen.

Placing a stained glass window in a child’s bedroom can encourage playful imagination.  Bright animal or floral themed stained glass panels are perfect choices to blend into a child’s bedroom theme.  The vivid color, and brightness of the light shining through the glass will enhance the decor of the bedroom.

There are so many stylistic choices of stained glass windows including Victorian, floral, and nature, finding a look for your home is just a matter of searching.  Glass is timeless, and it wears well, so that with some basic maintenance, it will improve the look and atmosphere of your home for a long time.

Image credit: clairity

Stained glass windows are used and loved because of their amazing ability to filter sunlight and illuminate a room; therefore it is imperative to keep them clean.  Cleaning stained glass is not difficult; however, it is important to know how to do it correctly. Remember when cleaning, always start with the least intrusive method and work progressively until you reach your desired result.

1. The first step in the cleaning process should be to use a soft cloth and dust the glass thoroughly.
2. If a film remains, you will need to use water. You want to use distilled water, as it is free of impurities and tap water is not. Soak your soft cloth in the distilled water, and wring it out completely. Gently wipe the surface of your glass to clean it. In order to reach smaller areas and corners, use a moistened cotton swab. A lot of dirt and residue can build up in these hard to reach areas, so it might take some time to really get them clean. When you are finished, wipe with a dry cloth to eliminate streaks.
3. If you still are not happy with the condition of your window, you have one more option. You can use a non-ammonia, non-vinegar glass cleaner or Orvis horse shampoo. Always wet your cloth with the product first, then wipe the window in a circular motion to clean it. Again, you will want to wipe with a dry cloth to get rid of any streaking that might occur.
4. Always keep a smoke free environment! Smoke is a sure way to cloud up your stained glass causing a dull appearance to your windows.

Once your stained glass is cleaned you can truly appreciate it for all the luminescent value it is able to bring into your home. Let the sun shine in and watch your windows come to life! Regular dusting with a soft cloth should be all they need now for many months to come.

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