Journeys | Teithiau

The Journey

In 2019 a small group of stained glass artists started making plans for a new exhibition in the medieval church of Weston, in Wharfedale, to be held in the summer of 2020, titled: Journeys: to Wharfe from Thames and Tawe | Teithiau: I'r Wharfe o'r Tafwys a'r Tawe.

Some of them had already started work, developing their ideas and creating designs on the Journeys theme when Covid intervened. 

With the world almost at a standstill, the concept of Journeys more than ever fired the imagination, and it was decided to continue on a different kind of Journey, creating a website containing a virtual evolving gallery of work in progress with a vernissage of finished works in July 2020 to coincide with what would have been the opening of the exhibition.

This activity generated new interest in their project, and a new itinerary emerged: coming together from south east England, south Wales and Yorkshire the finished pieces were displayed in 2021 at the National Stained Glass Museum, the ancient church of St Mary in the famous market town of Barnard Castle, and at St Helen’s Church, Denton, which also features the only surviving picture window by Henry Gyles.

Venues and Dates

St Helen’s Church, Denton (Ilkley) - 11th-12th September 2021

St Mary's Church, Barnard Castle - 12th - 23rd July 2021

The Stained Glass Museum, Ely, Cambridgeshire - 18th May -25th June 2021

The Artists

Jonathan Cooke

Catrin Davies

Nicola Kantorowicz

Elizabeth Lamont

Rachel Phillips

Christian Ryan

Journey 1 - Like Truth and Fire, Christian Ryan

Journey 2-When I Became The Night, Christian Ryan

Journey 3- When Night Became Day, Christian Ryan

“My journey is spiritual in nature, and explores the passage between the seen and unseen, the journey from the dark to the light. The bird motif, often recurring in my work, is an everyday reminder of the link between the physical and the spiritual.”

— Christian Ryan

A Splash of Colour

Makers Guild in Wales, Cardiff

11th November 2023 - 7th January 2024

Celebrating all things colour, this year’s Makers Guild in Wales Christmas show will feature Christian’s stained glass collage panels that will be available to purchase. Guild members and invited guest makers from across the UK will be exhibiting and selling their stunning designs - fabulous gift ideas for the festive season.

Makers include:
Caroline Finlay, Emily Kidson, Ruth Shelley,  Sarah Dunstan, Keeley Traae, Tone von Krogh, Margo Selby, Jo Bull, Michelle House, Caroline Brogden, Jennie Jackson, Katie Davies, Jane Nicholls, Kathryn Willis, Christian Ryan, Lynda Shell, Neil Wilkin, Tracy Watkins, Suzie Horan, Jill Riley, Caroline Rees, Ruth Harries, Susan Smith, Sue Atkins, Sasha Kingston, Tracy Watkins, Beate Gegenwart, Susie Vaughan, Anne Morgan, Mandy Nash, Thomasin Toohie, Simon Sharp

For more information: https://www.makersguildinwales.org.uk/aspashofcolour.html

Journeys Rotherithe, London

Holy Trinity Church, Rotherithe, London

June 16th-18th 2023

Seek His Face, Christian Ryan, 2023

In late 2021, a turquoise sheet of hand made streaky glass made by English Antique Glass was cut into six equal pieces, with lots drawn to allocate one piece to each artist to create a piece of work for the next instalment of the Journeys | Teithiau exhibition. The results came together and were seen for the first time at Rotherhithe in a unique collaboration.

The Glazier Magazine - Spring 2023

The piece for the exhibition is a continuation of the ‘Journeys’ theme from our previous exhibitions, where my personal theme has been concerned with conveying a spiritual journey. My panel uses symbols and text from scripture to explore the passage between the seen and unseen, the journey from darkness to light and links between the physical world and the spiritual.

On seeing the aqua glass, I decided to use my collage approach that allows spontaneity and surprise in its composition. This is a technique I use when creating some of my smaller pieces which gives a certain freedom when compared to creating a design and cartoon that is usual for commissioned work.

I cut the green glass into squares and started to work on various motifs from my sketchbook by etching through the green layer and painting on each piece individually. I also started to introduce other coloured pieces, to modulate the colour and add contrast. When I felt happy that I had enough pieces that conveyed the theme clearly enough for me, I began to collage on the light box, layering the glass and assessing each piece’s relationship to each other until I was happy with the composition and created the finished panel for the exhibition.