PE couple nab huge stained glass window commission

THE phrase “stained glass commission” evokes scenes of a medieval craftsman labouring away for hours over pieces of glass and lead in a Gothic church spire somewhere in Europe, but for a Nelson Mandela Bay “couple-in-art” this enterprise is a very contemporary undertaking.

“This is an ancient art form in a modern time,” said Ruth Nesbit, who is working with her 76- year- old husband, renowned artist and stained glass expert Hunter Nesbit, on an intricate commission for St Anne’s Diocesan College, an all-girls school in the KwaZulu Natal Midlands

Hunter’s exquisite design for the new chapel window was chosen from an array of other designs.

St Anne’s put the job out to tender throughout the country and say they had many very good entries, but that Hunter’s design was easily the best.

“The actual design encapsulated what we as an Anglican girls’ school wanted to put forward in terms of Christian values very successfully,” St Anne’s headmaster David Wilkinson said.

“Ruth and Hunter have taken a deep professional and personal interest in the window, and you can see it has captured their artistic imagination.”

The couple often work together on projects, and this one was no different.

“As an artist you have to say yes to everything and this was a unique opportunity for us to leave a lasting legacy,” said the grandfather of four.

Five South African design studios tendered for the Rose Window. But Hunter’s design won because the committee loved the simplicity of the angel, which, when repeated around the centre panel, interprets as a flower.

Ruth’s research and fabrication of the symbols came later in the project.

From design to inception, the project has been running for about a year, with final delivery scheduled for October 26.

A team of talented stained glass artists, trained by Hunter, have been working on the window.

Amanda Snyman, head of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University stained glass department, together with two assistants under the supervision of Hunter and Ruth, an acclaimed artist in her own right, have painstakingly put together the 12 identical “petals of the rose”.

“This has been a challenging project – sometimes painfully so, because you require complete accuracy and very good planning,” said Snyman.

“After that it’s just putting together the puzzle pieces and hoping they fit.”

The Rose Window is made up of 12 petals, one 80cm centre circle, 12 borders, 12 Hilton daisies to represent the local area and 12 blue triangles to symbolise the blue-green rolling KwaZulu Natal hills.

The 3m Rose Window is being funded by the St Anne’s Foundation which, in turn, procured funds from silent donors.

The glass used in the window is French flashed glass and “priceless” English Hartley Wood antique mouth-blown glass, often described as the best in its class in the world.

The Nesbits have a small stockpile of this glass which they bought in the early 1990s – and with the steady closure of glass-blowing studios around the world, the value of the glass has appreciated significantly.

“In all likelihood, the new Rose Window will outlive us all by a long shot,” quipped Wilkinson, with the couple giving it a whopping 100-year guarantee.