The Welsh Window Project

My Ceramic Welsh Window

A Tribute to the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing

In 1963, the Ku Klux Klan bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, tragically killing four young black girls. Upon hearing about this devastating event on the radio, Welsh stained-glass artist John Petts was deeply moved. In response to this tragedy, he created a stained-glass window as a gift to the church, symbolising solidarity and support from the people of Wales.

In June 2024, I had the privilege of travelling to Alabama with five other students from CSOA to see this powerful window in person. Experiencing the profound impact of this history firsthand and listening to the stories from the community around the church, I felt compelled to create my own response. The window and the resilient spirit of the community it represents inspired the direction for my final major project.

For my degree show, I created a series of small ceramic vessels, each individually thrown off the hump on the wheel. These vessels, in various shapes and sizes, were clustered together and then sliced vertically. The clustering symbolised the strength of the communities involved both the people of Alabama and the people of Wales coming together in the face of tragedy and adversity. The vessels "hug" one another, representing solidarity, while the slicing reveals the fragility of life and the delicate balance we hold with it.

Each piece was carefully glazed with a combination of underglazes and glazes, selected to echo the colour palette of Petts' stained-glass window. The arrangement of the vessels on the wall was intentional, inviting the viewer to engage with them in a similar way to how one might engage with a stained-glass window recognising its beauty, history, and the emotions it evokes.

In addition to the ceramic pieces, I created a series of jewellery pieces that mirrored the same sliced clusters. Using copper wire, I carefully constructed frameworks that reflected the shapes and forms of the ceramic pieces. I intentionally left the solder marks visible, and oxidised the copper to allow the copper to emulate the soldering that holds together the glass in Petts’ window. Additionally, I included 4 big circles in the necklace to represent the 4 little girls that lost their lives, Cynthia Wesley, Addie May Collins, Carole Robertson and Carol Denise McNair.

This project is both a tribute to the community affected by the bombing and a personal reflection on the shared human experience of loss, resilience, and healing. It also serves as an opportunity to educate others in Wales and the UK about this powerful story, encouraging reflection on its significance and the lasting impact such events have on communities around the world.

My Ceramic Welsh Window was on display at the 'Make it Right' Exhibition, at The Pierhead Building, Cardiff Bay.

Was displayed between 09/09/25 until 01/10/25

An exhibition by The Water Poets and Carmarthen School of Art, Sponsored by Vaughan Gething MS. One I'm thrilled to be apart of!

At its heart, 'Make it Right' stands as a powerful expression of international empathy, proudly supporting the Welsh Government's Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan and demonstrating Wales role in amplifying voices of peace and unity across borders.

Continuing with the Welsh Window..

Each vessel I create becomes a personal reinterpretation of elements from Petts’ design. I draw inspiration from the negative space of Jesus’ silhouette, translating that iconic absence into sculptural handles that invite touch and reflection. On the surface of each piece, I echo the brushwork, rhythm, and movement found within the original window, allowing the energy of the stained glass to flow across the clay.

This dialogue between glass and ceramics builds directly on ideas I first explored in my earlier piece, The Ceramic Welsh Window, where my use of the “tiny pots” first emerged. In this new work, I continue to push those ideas forward. Each vessel—each small pot—carries its own unique response to this powerful historical and artistic narrative, becoming both a personal conversation with Petts’ window and an evolving chapter in my ongoing creative practice.