Artwork copyright Cappy Thompson. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Artwork copyright Cappy Thompson. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Flowering Tree, 1985

Cappy Thompson
American (born 1952)

Location: Eagle Creek Elementary, Arlington

About the Artwork

Flowering Tree is a "grisaille" stained glass window by artist Cappy Thompson. This artwork celebrates the “miracle of life” using the tree as a symbol for natural lifecycles. She notes, “I wanted the tree to be joyful, beautiful and strong. The earth from which it grows is varied and rocky, producing strong roots. Delicate flowers are blooming, green leaves dancing.”

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Arlington Public Schools.

About the Artist

Celebrated Seattle-based glass artist Cappy Thompson creates rich "mytho-poetic narratives" in her vibrant and animated stained-glass artworks. Her site-specific installations draw imagery from myths, poetry, and personal expression.
To create her vivid and detailed scenes, Thompson often uses a glass painting technique called "grisaille" where black line drawings are painted on glass, which is then fired in a kiln to make the line drawings permanent. Grisaille has existed since medieval times (approximately 450-1450) and is what you often see in stained glass windows in European churches.
Thompson received a Bachelor of Arts degree from The Evergreen State College, Olympia, Western Washington in 1976. She has taught at art and glass programs around the world from Mexico to Australia to Germany, as well as locally at Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Northwestern Washington, and Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle.