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Lankan lion on stained glass
By Nilika de Silva
Worshippers at the new St Jude's Church being built at the famous St. Jude's shrine at Indigolla will have a Sri Lankan touch: a stained glass panel depicting St. Mark as a Sri Lankan lion.

Father Elmo Dias, of St. Jude's told The Sunday Times that the new church was being built to mark the golden jubilee of St. Jude's shrine. "It is in thanksgiving for 50 years of favours granted," he said. The church will have a seating capacity of about 1,100 whereas the first building could seat only about 180.

A young couple Dwayne and Kishani Piyatilleke were chosen to create the stained glass. Said Dwayne, "Only the best hand made, mouth blown glass was used for this panel. It was quite difficult, as the curves used in the Sri Lankan art form do not render themselves easily to glass."

Genuine stained glass is not done on a single sheet. Each piece is cut individually and painstakingly put together. Dwayne and Kishani have created 19 panels including the lion for the front facade. This panel was designed under the guidance of Fr. Elmo Dias and Fr. Cruz. Below the lion there is a book and quill which symbolizes the Christian faith. Dwayne explained that when creating stained glass for a church, one has to be mindful that it must last for many centuries. "At the very inception they made sure that my glass would stand for three, four hundred years," Dwayne said.
"This was an opportunity of a lifetime to be asked by the Catholic Church to create something in a Sri Lankan art form which will be viewed for generations to come," he added.

Stained glass is a Piyatilleke family interest. Their firm Architectural Leaded Glass which also creates panels for residences and offices was first handed down from mother to son and is now actively continued by Dwayne and his wife.

Architectural Leaded Glass won the award in the Product category at Architect 2000 and 2002 organized by the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects - For Genuine Stained Glass.

Now busy launching a branch office in the Middle East, where the designs will be in the Arabic art form, the Piyatillekes are currently involved in work on a horse racing stadium as well.

Explaining the uniqueness of genuine stained glass Kishani says "Stained glass is different from decorated glass, which is simply painted glass, where the colour fades easily. In stained glass, the colour is blended while the glass is being blown and this will last for around 400 years, while decorated glass lasts for just two or three years."

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