Silent Wings, Taking Flight

by Bryant Stanton and Morgan Eyring

Waco-based artist Bryant Stanton’s suspended sculpture design incorporates several elements that tell the story of flight in our community. Scissor-tailed flycatchers are indigenous to Central Texas and are often seen perched on fences, utility lines and in trees. The swooping metal arcs evoke the birds’ flight paths as well as aircraft contrails and the concentric circles of a radar screen. The names laser-cut into the design represent the many women who served as Women Army Service Pilots (WASPs) at Blackland Army Air Field, which was located at this site during World War II.

Meet Bryant Stanton

Waco-based artist and designer Bryant J. Stanton began working in glass in the late 1970s, when he first made stained-glass suncatchers for a Waco gift store. Stanton opened Stanton Glass Studio in 1979. Through the years, the studio added wood and metal to its portfolio, and a change in name to Stanton Studios followed. Today, Stanton’s team includes more than thirteen artisans, including his four adult sons. The firm designs and fabricates both custom architectural elements and fine art commissions, and also works to preserve architectural art in historical landmarks. Locally, Stanton’s work can be seen as part of the Waco Sculpture Zoo along the Brazos River, at McLennan Community College, and at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church.