“Grand Bayou Sunset” is a triptych of 36″ x 30″ stained glass panels commissioned by the Atakapa-Ishak Chawasha community in Grand Bayou, Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana.
The Grand Bayou Sunset Triptych project was a community collaborative project, conceived after Hurricane Katrina at the Natural Hazards Workshop in Boulder Colorado. The project was led by Mary White, in collaboration with the Atakapa Ishak Chawasha Tribe of Southern Louisiana, Rosina Philippe and Shirley Laska. The Grand Bayou Atakapa-Ishak Chawasha community lost their church and many homes in Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Isaac. When their church was rebuilt on stilts, they needed an image for the alter. The tribe asked Mary to fabricate three illuminated panels that depicted the sacred Grand Bayou water, sky and land to commemorate their heritage. Mary worked with Elders to develop the design.. She started the project by fabricating six smaller panels to be hung in the side windows of the church, using tribal members’ drawings, including Bim’s shrimp boat drawing and Rosina’s drawing of Bayou creatures.
Mary arranged scholarships for two tribal youth to attend a stained glass making class at Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, New Mexico Mary was teaching with Marty Meade and to work with her in her studio in CA to select the glass and finalize the designs.
Among other concerns for strengthening the new church, a traditional installation of stained glass with natural lighting was not suitable for the unpredictable weather of the Grand Bayou. This triptych includes integrated LED illumination, with moisture resistant construction, providing reliable light for this artwork day or night, and detectable if there is another hurricane and they need to be taken out in a hurry..
The Atakapa-Ishak Chawasha are located along the coast and in the marshes of a unique and diverse ecosystem, an area that been devastated by Hurricane Katrina and is deeply impacted by seawater rise. The Atakapa-Ishak Chawasha are working to preserve the people, culture, and land of that region with projects like this and many others of its kind.
About the community and ecological disasters impacting them:
First People’s Conservation Council
High risk Native American village on Grand Bayou wants government help to stay
Acknowledgements:
Tribal members, three sociologists and many artists contributed their time and resources to make this project possible, including:
Rosina Philippe
Reverend Benny
Sierra Ancar
Jeanne Sykes
Paul and Caroline Sykes
Kris Peterson
Shirley Laska
Louise Fortmann
Mary White
Jerry Sears
Marty and Bud Meade
Susan Longini
Arthur Stern
Jenna Kurtz and Jesse
Ariana and Nzilani Glass
Kristina Zarelli
Penelope Anstruther
Najah Alboushi
Northwest 1024
Fred Mork and Walter Mork, Inc
Phil and Franciscan Glass
Stained Glass Garden
Caroline Margaux
Ghost Ranch
Natural Hazards Workshop at UC Boulder