Hope Community Methodist Church on Barnbygate, Newark welcomed artist Karen Slade from The Company of Artisans for medieval stained glass workshop

As the town was getting ready to ‘ignite’, a workshop dedicated to all from toddlers to retired people saw creativity come to life.

On Saturday (March 1), Newark town centre welcomed hundreds of visitors to its The Ignite: Fire, Flame and Frenzy event, however, for those wanting to get away from the flames there were Medieval Stained Glass Making sessions.

At Hope Community Methodist Church on Barnbygate, Newark, artist Karen Slade from The Company of Artisans, specialised in developing historic arts activities, led the sessions at 2pm and 3.45pm.

Everyone who participated was given pictures of stained glass to work with, including some from the medieval windows at St. Mary Magdelene, with Spring flowers, chicks, hares, and even some Dragons to link the workshop to the Fire theme taking place later at the festival.

Karen gave an introduction about how medieval stained glass was made, exemplifying it so that visitors could learn about the magic behind the scenes of the glass.

The artist said: “We worked with modern materials, using laminates and pens to create artwork that was trimmed and can be hung at home in the window.

“Everyone made at least one illuminated picture to take away and they loved what they made, in such a short time.

“One gentleman commented that he'd never realised until then why stained glass looks the way it does and that he'd really learnt something from the session.”

Anna Herbert, Heritage Interpretation and Visitor Experience manager at St Mary Magdalene Church, Newark said: “It was a fantastic event, made possible by support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

“It is great to be part of another wonderful and inspiring Newark Creates event, and to raise the profile of the heritage of St Mary Magdalene parish church.

“The feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive and we will definitely be running similar events in the future.

“Karen and Charlie from the Company of Artisans are a delight to work with, and have the magical ability to make history come alive.

“They will be returning to Newark on Sunday 6th April for St Mary Magdalene's next event, "Medieval Masterpieces"; a family friendly afternoon where you will get a chance to try your hand at making Medieval tiles and learning how buildings like St Mary's were built.”