Kate Crankshaw graduated from The University of the Arts in 2019. And after a year as a resident artist and another two years of grad school in Virginia, she was ready to return to the private arts university to teach.
It was a rude awakening when the school shut its doors.
“That was part of the reason I moved back to Philly,” she said. “I think it was a month after I graduated [from grad school] that the school shut down, and I was like, ‘what now?’”
Kate had always been focused on glass art – it’s what she focused on while pursuing her Bachelor’s in Fine Arts of Craft + Material Studies from UArts, and her Master’s in Fine Arts of Craft + Material Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Shortly after the UArts closure, she found a way to celebrate the UArts legacy and her love for glass – The Stained Glass Project.
“The Stained Glass Project is an after-school nonprofit for Philly public high school students, and we teach them the art of stained glass making,” she said.
Crankshaw took over the program three years ago. And most recently, the nonprofit has moved into the Village of Industry and Art, the newly reactivated creative campus inside the former UArts Hamilton Hall.
The program is operating in the former UArts glass studio. Crankshaw said this has been a “full circle” moment for her, as she’s been able to return to where it all started for her.
“I learned everything that I know in this room for the most part,” she said. “It’s the basis of my education and how I feel about art and craft.”
The program
The Stained Glass Project has been around for 20-25 years in the Philly area. It was initially started at a church in Germantown, with participants from Germantown High School.
Crankshaw said the program still has a focus on the art of stained glass nearly two decades later, but that there is an extra emphasis on leadership.
“They were doing the same thing that we do now, which was working with stained glass, but really the thing that we do is mentorship,” she said.
Program participants will make two windows. The first one, a replica of the Philadelphia LOVE sign, aims to get students acquainted to working with stained glass. The second window type will be decided by students each year, and will be donated to other non-profit organizations across the country.
Crankshaw said there is a “learning curve” that comes as students work with the glass.
“Their first window, they go slower,” she said. “They’re scared of the glass, they’re scared to cut themselves, or that the machines will cut them. And I have to say, ‘I promise they won’t cut you.’
“They may grind away your fingernails, but that’s the worst thing that will happen. And then by the second window, they’re all very quick, and they own the process and know what they’re doing.”
This year’s afterschool program hosts students from Constitution High School, George Parker High School and Science Leadership Academy.
Crankshaw said schools that participate can vary year by year – and that it depends on which respond to outreach from the organization.
Having this time to unwind with friends is important, said Gabrielle Jones, a ninth-grade participant from Constitution High School.
“When we come in, they do ask us how our day was and how we feel,” she said. Whatever we say, they don’t undermine it.”
From there, participants will start working on glass. This year’s group is currently working on their first LOVE sign window.
Jones has never worked with stained glass before. She said the nonprofit creates a low-pressure environment, where she and her peers can learn this new skill.
“This program actually allows you to pick options [for stained glass colors],” she said. “At my own school, it would have been like, ‘oh, you can only use three colors.’ Here, you can use any colors you want. And they make the environment comfortable for teenagers.”
Crankshaw said there are various parts to the process.
For the LOVE window, there is a specific pattern and instructions to follow.
“So they number everything. They cut out all their pieces, and then their frame is what the final frame will be in wood. So they have to make sure everything fits right.”
Crenshaw said students have choices in the tools they use.
“There are tools for flat cutting, we have a band saw kind of thing,” she said. “And glass tools are like sandpaper, more than a saw, because they all grind away glass, they don’t cut it.”
Passing wisdom along
Maria Trainor was a program participant in the Stained Glass Project several years ago through PA Cyber Charter. She said she saw this as a unique opportunity to practice a new art skill.
“I’ve always been interested in the arts,” she said. “Philly has a bunch of different things like free ceramic classes, free painting classes and then I saw this stained glass one. I thought, ‘no one ever does that for free.’ I knew it was expensive. And I knew I wouldn’t be able to learn it in any other situation.”
Trainor applied and fell in love with the program right away. This led to other opportunities.
“They gave me a scholarship at the end of the program to go to the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York,” she said. “They had weeklong intensive classes, so I stayed there for a week learning different stained glass techniques.”
Trainor is now back volunteering with the program on Monday afternoons. She said the work felt aligned with two things she loved – glass and nonprofits.
“Kate needed help and since I was young, I’ve worked in different nonprofits and volunteered so I thought, ‘why not?’” she said. “And in exchange, I get to have studio space and progress my art and glass skills.”
Trainor said, as a volunteer, it is rewarding to watch younger students start with the program.
“I love seeing them use everything for the first time and ask questions and really get into it,” she said. “It’s really exciting whenever they cut their first piece of glass, because they’re kind of scared but then they really get into it and it becomes their favorite thing.”
Learning a new skill is exciting, said Tianna Coffey, a ninth-grade student at Constitution High.
“It’s gone pretty smoothly,” she said. “I feel like I’ve learned a lot of new skills and saw a ton of new things and stuff like that that I haven’t seen before.”
Jones agrees. She said program leaders like Trainor help to create a safe and welcoming atmosphere for students.
“They don’t rush you to finish this project, because they know that it’s our first time, so they’re pretty understanding,” she said.
The windows at the end of the program are donated to other nonprofits throughout the country. Crankshaw said the students have an active role in choosing what is on these windows and where they go.
“The kids love learning about the nonprofits,” she said. “And then what I’ve done since I’ve been in charge is actually asked the kids what they care about and what kinds of things they would want to donate to.
“So last year, a lot of them said they wanted to support things that are bringing art to people who don’t have access, and then the year before, they really cared about the LGBTQ+ rights.”
She said that using the students’ input helps them feel important and motivated to create meaningful work for these organizations.
Community support
Crankshaw said the program is funded with a mix of private donors and grants – which allow for things like free SEPTA passes for students, snacks ahead of glass work and supplies.
Crankshaw explained that the studio also uses donated supplies.
“We have a lot of glass, because people pick up stained glass as a hobby, and then they decide they don’t want to do it, and then they need somewhere to give the glass,” she said.
She said being back in the UArts community has felt like home. She said this new, creative campus inside the former Hamilton Hall feels like a community of its own.
“I have always wanted to work in nonprofits, and I always wanted to teach at UArts,” she said. “So, this feels like the full circle thing of doing all of that in this way that I didn’t intend.”
She said that as tenants continue to move into the building, she is beginning to feel reconnected to the community.
She explained this was the perfect spot to put the nonprofit.
“I went to UArts, and I knew the magic that existed within the whole space, and this classroom and it was already set up to do everything we needed.”
You can learn more about The Stained Glass Project here and donate to the project here.
