A New and Enlightening Experience in France
A New and Enlightening Experience in France
(PRWEB) March 30, 2005
Tucked away in the picturesque village of St.Nexans, 5 minutes from Bergerac airport and only 10 minutes from the heart of the medieval town, is the stained glass studio-workshop, and gallery of Richard Mahoney and his wife Ann.
Richard, an artist of international renown with commissions made for the Royal Household, amongst others, combines his love a creating original works of art, with courses for those who also want to share his passion for stained glass.
Having tried a painting course in the Lake District and pottery in Wales I felt I would be more adventurous and headed to the Dordogne, one of the most beautiful areas of France, and enrolled in a five day course in stained glass at La Maison des Vitraux.’ The House of Stained Glass. http://www.stainedglassinfrance.net
A cheap Ryanair flight from Stansted made getting there easy, Richard’s’ wife Ann kindly picked me up from the airport and within minutes I was in St. Nexans.
The cost of the course includes accommodation on a bed and breakfast basis with evening meals an option either at La Maison des Vitraux, or at one of the many restaurants in nearby Bergerac.
As well as their stained glass business, Richard and Ann run a successful bed and breakfast and it’s easy to see why. The en-suite rooms are beautifully decorated in the style of famous Art Nouveau artists. An added bonus is the stained glass window in each room which allows the sunlight to cast a warm, multicoloured glow, which only adds to the overall effect and certainly gets you in the mood.
Like me, my fellow students had no prior knowledge of working with stained glass and it was therefore a relief when Richard spent the first morning giving us a history of this most evocative of mediums. This, coupled with a visit to a local church to see some stunning examples of medieval stained glass, certainly helped us understand how we could express ourselves and create our own ‘work of art.’
During the five day course Richard patiently coached us, until, at the weekÂs end we were all proudly able to show off our own, unique pieces.
None perhaps were going to shake the art world but they were distinctive and they were original, but perhaps most of all we’d all had tremendous fun and, no pun intended, I now look at stained glass windows in a much more appreciative light.
Alan Barton
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Tags: Enlightening, Experience, France
Filed under: Church Stained Glass
