manageable texture. Upon further
experimentation, I found that if the
CDs are painted somewhat translu-
cently in places,
they resemble
stained glass. In
fact, upon asking
students, parents,
and teachers
to identify the material used in my
sample; they all said the same thing:
stained glass!
Next, I painted one of the foam
discs with black acrylic to serve
as a background. I used white glue
to adhere the
painted CD
pieces onto the
foam board and
began to see
something inter-
esting unfold. Instead of actual lead
holding the pieces together, the black
disc background became the lead lines.
I soon realized that my CD dabbling
created a cross between a mosaic and a
stained-glass art piece. I couldn’t wait
to create a lesson plan for students out
of this.
My CD dabbling created a
cross between a mosaic and
stained-glass art piece.
Introducing Stained Glass
Start with a presentation displaying
both mosaic and stained-glass images
from Byzantine and Renaissance times
and lead class discussions, reflections,
and analysis in regard to the images
and processes shown. Show students
samples of your CD “stained-glass
