Nothing can nourish the soul but light

Rumi

It all started with a hideous air conditioning unit.

My neighbor’s AC unit sits atop a concrete slab, listing to one side, gathering leaves and branches in its coils, mocking me as I gaze out of my kitchen window. Try as I might, I couldn’t ignore it, which lead to an exhaustive Google search for a solution that obscured the view but didn't block the light. I found the answer in a spectacular, candy colored rondel window in the style of German 15th century half-timbered houses. It wasn’t for sale, so I set about making it myself. My love affair with light and shadow, pattern and line, color and form found a new outlet and Toad Hall Glass was born.

My name is Jenny and I hand craft stained glass panels in my studio here at Toad Hall. I also teach science to a wonderful group of children who make me laugh and inspire me every single day. I didn’t start out as a teacher though. I graduated university with a degree in interior design and architecture. While I eventually moved out of the field, my love of design has only grown with the years. My eye has been honed, sense of scale and proportion heightened, and evaluation of color, texture, and shape sharpened on the most glorious of training fields. I lived abroad for many years where I traveled extensively and beheld works of staggering genius - both of the human and natural variety. My “church” is the towering Fitz Roy in Patagonia, David in Florence, the exquisite sunsets in Mallorca, the colonnades of Karnak, and the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat. I aim to translate this sense of awe and reverence into my work.