To celebrate the Centenary of the British Society of Master Glass Painters, we invited all Members to create an exhibition panel measuring 30cm x 30cm. There was no theme and no restriction on techniques or materials, provided glass was involved.

We selected 60 panels to exhibit in our Centenary Touring Exhibition, which launched in the autumn of 2021 at The Stained Glass Museum in Ely. The two display stands housing the work then visited Winchester Cathedral, All Saints Church, Bristol, the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea, Wells and Worcester Cathedrals, Oxford Cathedral and Lichfield Cathedral. After briefly stopping at the International Festival of Glass in Stourbridge the exhibition reached it’s final venue in Manchester Cathedral and finished in November 2022.

You can watch an ITV news item about the exhibition here.

Enjoy the online exhibition. Just click on the image to scroll through the panels, and there are more on the following pages.

Glenn Carter FMGP ‘Cardinal’
Painted, stained, abraided and leaded antique glass. 'I do not consider myself a figurative artist, drawing is both a struggle and a passion . This panel mimics the manner of a Holbein portrait. ‘Cardinal’ is a visual pun of a religious man and this stunning American finch.'
Fabrizia Bazzo AMGP 'Memories of the Sea'
Two layers of flashed glass (St Just & EAG), acid etched and painted. 'Inspired by memories of walking along the seashore; something that has always been a pleasure and is what I have missed most in these times. Translating my dreams into glass has always been my way of entering a world of wonders and, more recently, a way to escape reality.'
Ruth Taylor Jacobson AMGP ‘A Generation Goes, a Generation Comes - but the Earth Endureth Forever’ (Ecclesiastes 1 v.4)
Painted and leaded 'antique' glass. 'As I grow older, I become more and more aware of the transience of Life - seeing people change, grow older - and so many dear friends pass away - especially during this nightmare pandemic. A vortex of swirling, tortured bodies (inspired by William Blake) and at the centre is the hope of new life, embodied in a human embryo.'
Pippa Martin 'Homage to Women 2021'
Single sheet of Antique mouth blown English Glass, traditionally painted and fired, back-stained and front-enamelled. Kiln-fired four times. 'Inspired by Women’s Day 8.3.2021.'
Ruth Kersley AMGP ‘Pit Brow Lasses’
Engraved, painted and leaded ‘antique’ glass. ‘Inspired by 1860’s photographs depicting the bond between female pit workers, forgotten by history. Engraved faces reflect their tough resilience and the ironstone they broke with heavy pickaxes. As we emerge from this dark pandemic we recall acts of heroism and solidarity and hopes for a brighter future’.
Wendy Newhofer 'Cyanobacteria'
Kiln formed glass with inclusions of metal leaf, foil and wire. 'Research for an exhibition titled ‘Life forms’ led me into the wonderful world of cyanobacteria. Still the subject of scientific research, their fossilised remains date back over 3.5 million years. I love their sinuous forms.'
Caroline Small 'Leaves in a stream'
Cast glass powers fused onto glass reactive base. 'This piece is inspired from long lockdown walks with my dog. We walked by the river and watched the autumn leaves being swept away. The piece is created from real leaves which have been cast in glass.
Sally Pollitzer AMGP 'On the Allotments’
Stained and painted Polish, German and English glass. 'The seasonal change, a gardener grasping his seed packet, the all important shed, the emerging sunflower, a reminder of how important our Bath allotment was during Lockdown.'
Carole Gray 'Corona (Chaos)'
Sandblasted flashed coloured glass and textured clear glass, copperfoiled with leaded edges. 'Loosely inspired by the coronavirus motif we see everywhere, this panel represents the relative chaos we had at the start of the pandemic. The stencils were cut by hand and the glass was fire-polished.'
Veronica Smith 'The Sentinel'
Painted, silver stained and leaded antique glass. 'The panel is inspired by the birds in my garden and the solace found in wildlife through difficult times. The Jackdaws in particular were fun to watch. One would keep a look out whilst the other was on the feeder and sometimes there were several pairs. Then they would swap and take it in turns to keep watch. It was heartwarming to watch their sense of community, trust and camaraderie.'
Jessica Stroud 'Carolling Robins'
Lamberts glass, sandblasted, engraved, painted and silver stained. 'The image was inspired by Godfrey Blount (1859-1937) who founded the Peasant Art Society in the town where I live, members of which practised their radical belief of 'creating art for love not money'. The original work is a linocut and I felt challenged to see if I could replicate it in glass.'
Catherine Day 'Lockdown Walks'
English Antique and Spectrum glass, engraved, painted, silver stained and leaded. 'The flowers inspired by the many new found walks in London during the Covid Lockdown. Where nature became pivotal in everyday life as a means of escapism.'
Caroline Small 'Microscopic Viruses'
Mouth blown flashed glass, sandblasted, painted and silver stained. 'If you combined all the Corona virus in the world you would not even fill a can of coke. A microscopic wonder that is deadly in its beauty. I have made this for all those who have lost their lives, for those that helped and cared and for the brilliant scientists that found a vaccine.'
Simone Kay 'Outtakes'
Painted and stained over-fired glass (cat), fused clear glass with enamels and wire, screen printed and stained glass. 'Celebrating 100 years of BSMGP, a reminder that things do not always go according to plan. Every glass painter, fuser or slumper will have experienced equipment failure, accidental breakages and general mishaps, so here are some out-takes leaded together with wide heart lead!'
Jane Vincent 'Swansea Sampler'
Leaded painted stained glass. 'My store cupboards of glass, including these experiments with glass painting, are also repositories of memories from forty happy years spent in the close company of others making stained glass panels, learning together, and enjoying ourselves immensely!'
Jane Ross 'Internal Landscape'
Stained glass panel incorporating fused glass forms, painted glass and a touch of sandblasting. 'My starting point was the fused forms of the horses and parts of the landscape, which I made by fusing glass over plaster impressions. I developed a landscape around them based on colour values and love of pattern and texture.'
Julia Gonyou 'Standing into Danger - Made in Alliance with Shark Allies’
Lead oxide painted on hand blown flashed glass. 'Three finned sharks overlay the nautical flag ‘U’ meaning ‘standing into danger’. The painting is a literal warning regarding yet another sector of environmental injustice. Over 100 million Sharks are unsustainably fished annually, often dismembered for their fins and left to suffocate.'
Jacqui Farrell-Fowler ' Hidden, Forgotten, Invisible?'
Traditionally painted slab glass and enamelled, laser and acid etched, plated red flash then leaded. 'Inspired by the work of Georgia O’Keeffe, I have created a tribute in celebration of the female stained glass designers and makers of the 20th Century whose names are rarely mentioned and whose work gets overlooked and forgotten.'
Elizabeth Lamont ‘Soaring over the Downs’
Traditionally painted blue and mauve antique glass backed by a layer of undulating pink/gold. 'A bird’s eye view of the shining loops of the Cuckmere river provides a glimpse of an imagined future for the flood plain. Quietly a network of rivulets spreads across the valley as it is gradually reclaimed by the sea.'
Carole Gray 'Corona (Order)'
Sandblasted flashed coloured glass and textured clear glass, copperfoiled with leaded edges. 'Loosely inspired by the coronavirus motif we see everywhere, this panel represents the relative order we find ourselves in now.'
Ann Sotheran FMGP 'Time Flies'
Antique flashed glass with paint and enamel, etching and engraving. 'When I was working up a design for a customer based on her grandmother's embroidery of a dandelion clock I realised what an appropriate subject it would be for the centenary celebration of the BSMGP. (Her design is quite different!)'
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