Dim: 1 @ 6000 x 700mm, 2 @ 5000 x 650mm aprox.

The brief stated that the window should be on the theme of the Benedicite.
The Benedicite is a song of Creation praising God and the window is intended to convey this, the concept of praise rising from Earth to Heaven.

It is also a memorial window and personal symbols relating to Arthur and Biddy Heaton for whom the window is a memorial were also to be included.
If possible there should be a feeling of music from the work. I was asked to bear in mind my previous window for Paisley Abbey on the theme of light and music.
The overall feeling I wanted from the design is one of upward movement. The Gothic Arch shape of the lancets has the effect of drawing the eye upwards; this could have been counteracted to some degree by stained glass panels if desired. I have tried to enhance the upward flow.

I have not attempted any kind of reality in terms of making the objects depicted solid or real in terms of scale, colour or form preferring instead to think of them as symbols and as such manifestations which appear like melodies in a passage of music. Both the form and the colour emerge from the overall colour rather than set against a contrasting background colour.
In this design the drawing is more important than the colour. In a sense the colour is there only to enhance the drawing. It is basically a tonal work.
The Benedicite is a song of Creation.
I have therefore made this a Creation Window using the imagery of the Six Days of Creation and having included the elements from the Benedicite where I feel they are appropriate within this concept. I also felt it appropriate to try to keep some visual sense of the possible such as having angels and the heavens at the top of each panel and the seas and the earth at the base. This encourages a feeling of rising.

The personal symbols relating to the parents of the donor which are included have no more nor less prominence than any of the other symbols although I have tried to place them where they make most sense within the overall concept.

Beginning in the left hand lancet with day one and two,
the separation of the light from the darkness;
God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light;....'Gen 1:3
and He 'separated the light from the darkness.'
God said 'Let there be a vault between the waters, to separate water from water.'....' and God called the vault the heavens.'
Also included here are aspects of the weather, ie. lightning and clouds, rain and sleet, winds and snow. I have also included here parts of day three with the separation of the land from the water eg. the mountains and hills.

In the right hand lancet aspects of days three and four are shown;
- The creation of vegetation. Gen 1:11 'Let the earth produce growing things; let there be on earth plants that bear seed.'.Gen 1:14 'Let there be lights in the vault of heaven to separate day from night'.

The centre lancet is concerned with days five and six of creation, Gen 1:20' Let the water team with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of heaven.
' Gen 1:24 God said' Let the earth bring forth living creatures.' Hence the fishes and fowls, the cattle and wild beasts. At the top there are Angels which surround the throne of God here represented by a crown.

The other aspects to this window are the inclusion of Christian and personal symbols.

The word 'Light' which appears to the top of the left hand lancet is an indication that the power of God is so great that the uttering of the word was enough for Creation to happen. The word and the deed are one and the same; as God said Let There be Light , it occurred.
It also refers to Christ as being light of the world. John 8 : 12 'I am the light of the world, he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.' John 3 : 8 The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes, so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit'
In the right hand lancet there is a palm branch symbolising the Entry into Jerusalem.
Above that are grapes and wheat as symbols of the Eucharist and above them is the combination of fire and water relating to Baptism and the burning of the chaff.
John 3 : 5 'I tell you the truth no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit....'.
Matt 3 : 11 'I baptise you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry, He will baptise you with the Holy spirit and with fire....Gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.' Within this area is a transition from blue glass representing water into the red above the grapes representing the changing of water into wine at the marriage at Cana.

In this lancet there are also some personal symbols relating to the Heatons. There are wild flowers such as primroses, violets and bluebells of which Biddy Heaton was particularly fond. Violets are also a symbol of humility. Also here, beside a willow branch is a cricket bat, ball and wicket representing Arthur Heatons' love of cricket.
At the base of the centre lancet there are fish and there is also some indication of a net representing mans' dominion over the animals and fishes and a suggestion of the miracle of the fishes and from Mark 1 : 17 'Come ye after me and I will make you to become fishers of men'..
Mankind itself is not specifically represented except through the inclusion of the personal symbols. The dog and the cat were family pets but are also appropriate to the creation of the animals. A lion has been included both to represent wild animals and to refer to the book of Daniel from which the Benedicite originates. The top dove below the rainbow has an olive twig as a symbol of peace. The rainbow is tri-coloured rainbow being a symbol of the Trinity. Above the rainbow is the symbol of the Holy Spirit
John 1:32 'I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven like a dove and resting upon him'.
The Trinity is again represented by the lamb, the dove and the crown in this centre window.
At the top of this lancet are two angels in keeping with the many windows in the church which include angels. I have drawn these angels with two sets of wings each with the second set of wings covering the feet. They are also drawn in a posture representing the crucifixion as is the dove representing the Holy Spirit underneath.
In the two small triangles at the top of the window are the signs for Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.
Rev 22;13 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end'.

The use of lettering throughout the window refers to the work of Arthur Heaton as Editor of the local newspaper and also to create areas of further interest throughout the window. Also included are the symbols for the Mother Union and Women Institute with which Biddy Heaton was associated.

O ye Works of the Lord, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Angels of the Lord, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Heavens, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Waters that be above the firmament, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O all ye Powers of the Lord, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Sun and Moon, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Stars of heaven, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Showers and Dew, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Winds of God, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Fire and Heat, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Winter and Summer, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Dews and Frosts, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Frost and Cold, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.

O ye Ice and Snow, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Nights and Days, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Light and Darkness, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Lightnings and Clouds, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O let the Earth bless the Lord : yea, let it praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Mountains and Hills, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O all ye Green Things upon the earth, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Wells, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Seas and Floods, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Whales, and all that move in the waters, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O all ye Fowls of the air, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O all ye Beasts and Cattle, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Children of Men, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O let Israel bless the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Priests of the Lord, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Servants of the Lord, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye Spirits and Souls of the Righteous, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O ye holy and humble Men of heart, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
O Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son : and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
world without end. Amen.