Nature-Inspired Faux Stained Glass
Students learn about the creation of stained glass and Tiffany glass produced by the Tiffany Studios in New York from 1878 to 1933. Students are engaged in discussion while viewing Autumn Landscape and several Tiffany lamps. Since various things in nature are depicted in Tiffany glass, students also include at least 3 things from nature in their own faux stained glass, using oil pastels and black china marker on black paper. Students learn to put white first to create brighter colors on the black paper. Once students sketched at least two ideas in their sketchbook, students drew a 1-inch border with a ruler and sketched their final design with pencil. Students created a design for their border as well. The design must be divided into organic or geometric shapes to mimic the stained glass effect. When coloring, a small gap is left around the pencils lines for the framing material in stained glass. At least two analogous colors are blended together in each section of the work. Lastly, the pencil lines were drawn over using black. The project is an enriching lesson for middle school students because it blends art history, technique, and personal creativity.

