Church of All Saints, Dunsden, Oxfordshire
Address
Church of All Saints, Church Lane, Dunsden Green, Reading RG4 9PHTheme
Overview
The Stevens Competition is the premier competition for stained glass artists in the UK. It was founded in 1972 to provide an opportunity for aspiring architectural glass artists, designers, and craftsman to compete in a format which simulates the typical process to obtain a commercial commission. Entrants are required to develop a design to a specific client brief and provide Artistic and Technical Statements defining the concept behind their design and how the design would be realised.
In 1987 the Competition moved from theoretical locations to site specific locations, which allowed for the possibility, with the agreement of the sponsor, of a winning design to be realised.
Highlight
Nave south window in memory of Wilfred OwenArtist, maker and date
Designed by Natasha Redina and made by her at Derix Glasstudios. Installed by Dan Humphries Stained Glass Ltd, October2023Reason for highlighting
The 2022 Stevens Competition was run in association with the Dunsden Owen Association. The challenge was to design a window for All Saints Church in the village of Dunsden, Oxfordshire, to celebrate the period that the wartime poet Wilfred Owen spent in the village as a lay assistant to the vicar of the parish church. The period Owen spent in Dunsden had a profound effect on him and many commentators can see signs of the mature style of his poetry emerging during his time in the village.
The window takes an emotional journey from earthly suffering and injustice to a deeper understanding that finds meaning beyond this world.
At the bottom and leading up from an image of Owen are the opening lines of the poem ‘Deep Under Turfy Grass’, which he wrote in the parish, in response to the death of a mother and her four-year-old daughter in a horse and cart accident, and which encapsulates earthly suffering and injustice.
In the middle panel is the Wilfred Owen Trail in the village, inspiring personal pilgrimage. It leads us onto a quote from Revelation 21:4: ‘And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes and there shall be no more death’, as the pilgrim discovers meaning beyond the ego. This transcendence is reflected in Goethe’s colour wheel, which asks us to look beyond the physical nature of light to its psychological and transcendent qualities.
Artist/maker notes
Natasha Redina is a London based artist of mixed English and Greek heritage. Studies at SOAS heightened an understanding that there are multiple perspectives through which the human experience can be filtered, as well as sparking a desire to help preserve traditional crafts.
Practical training included time at Morley College and the Princes Foundation School of Traditional Arts, where a short course on stained glass ignited a lifelong passion.
A fuller description of Natasha Redina’s artistic development is on her artist’s page.
Source: natasharedina.com
Derix Glasstudios, Taunusstein, Germany, was founded in 1866 and has a fine reputation for operating at the forefront of technology to realise the designs of artists and architects.
Source: Derix Glasstudios website
Dan Humphries Stained Glass Ltd was established in 2015 and specialises in the conservation, repair, restoration and cleaning of stained glass, leaded lights and other historic glazing schemes.
Before setting up his own business Dan worked for a large stained glass conservation firm for twenty years. He has a BA (hons) degree in Architectural Stained Glass and is an accredited member of ICON (Institute of Conservation).
Comments by
Peter Hildebrand & Natasha Redina