Beardshear Glass Gardens

Object NameSkylight

Artist / Maker Marty Grund (American b. 1952)

Date2002

MediumPaint, gold gilding, lead, and colored glass.

Dimensions336 x 204 x 4 in. (853.4 x 518.2 x 10.2 cm)

ClassificationsArchitecture, Architectural Ornamentation and Elements

Credit LineThe Beardshear Hall Skylight Project in an Iowa Art in State Buildings Project with additional financial support from George Christensen, and Beverly and Warren Madden. In the Art on Campus Collection, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object numberU2003.3abc

Status

On view

Collections

Label TextIn 1961, James and Faye Whitaker purchased several stained glass panels when the original skylights were removed from the building. In 2002, the Whitakers provided these original panels for the restoration project. From the original glass panels and historic photographs, artisans from The Stained Glass Store including Marty Grund, created a historically accurate reproduction design of the original stained glass skylight series. The north and south skylights each contain 7,200 individually cut sections of stained glass, traced and transferred, leaded and custom fit. The dome’s oculus has a new skylight containing 3,500 individually cut sections of stained glass. The oculus did not originally contain stained glass, but has been designed by Grund to harmonize with the stained glass skylight series. Grund stated this project is, “a near perfect reconstruction”. Marty Grund, stained glass artist for the Beardhshear Hall reconstruction skylight project, became interested in stained glass when still in his rural Iowa elementary school. When his class happened to take a trip to Westminster Presbyterian Church, Grund was awestruck by the light and the color in the main sanctuary. Grund states, “I think it was a seed that was planted in me then that led me to doing this craft.” Grund turned his passionate stained glass hobby into a full-time profession over 25 years ago. He started small, then worked his way up to larger projects including the Iowa Governor’s Mansion Terrace Hill, the Salisbury House, the Iowa State Capitol, and numerous churches. His stained glass business, the Stained Glass Store, is in Des Moines, Iowa. Grund describes his stained glass work as, “a slow, arduous, loving craft. Turning a pastime into a business-- it’s a dream,” continues Marty, “especially with something as beautiful as stained glass.”

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