Fifteen years of creative expertise guiding them allowed those staring at the illuminated tables to feel confident — or at least proficient — in their work.

For the eight students spending the evening in the arts and crafts room of the Southern Cultural Heritage Center, the four-day stained glass workshops, held last Monday through Thursday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. each day, was a chance to create, and for the instructor, it was a chance to share his passion.

“Stained glass is symbolism, rich in color and light,” said workshop instructor Mark Bleakley of Bleakley Stained Glass.  “I get excited about each class for different reasons every time I teach it. This time I was excited about the potential of glass itself. I began the class by asking, ‘Where would the world be without glass?’ ”

Bleakley, who started his career in colored glass creations as a window washer for a stained glass company, has taught glass art classes for various skill levels for the past seven years at the Heritage Foundation. He said a fascination with the Middle Ages and comic books led him to want to create lasting art that depicts can heroes.

“I love comic books, so it feels like I’m doing the same sort of thing—putting a hero (on display),” he said. “It’s a different view of life, a different vision. That’s what I get excited about.”

Bleakley supplied the glass, glasscutters, illuminated tables and all other supplies his students needed to create a stained glass creation of their own.

“It’s like they have a fully functioning stained glass studio for the week,” he said.

Those enrolled in the class tried their hand at cutting, grinding, copper foiling (a technique used to secure the pieces together) and soldering to complete their pieces.

“Your whole life you’ve tried not to break glass and here you snap it,” Conrad Rabalais, who took the class with his two children as a Father’s Day present, said. “So getting past that initial hesitancy is the hardest part.

“(The class) has worked out great. I get to spend time with my kids.”

His daughter, Lauren, and son Chris both agreed the class was a great bonding experience.

“He is the man who has everything and he’s been wanting to do it for awhile so it was perfect timing,” Lauren said. “We get to do it with him and have had a great time. We all get a benefit out of this.”

Chris said he saw it as an extension of spending time with his father as a child.

“We did woodworking together while I was growing up so this is another cool skill to learn together,” he said.

Luanne Salgado, who took the class for the second time with her daughter-in-law, said the class was a great creative outlet.

“You get to pick your own design and own colors,” she said. “I just like being able to put my own spin on things.”