THE LARGEST stained glass window in Wales is now fitted in Newport's Prov-isions Market - completing a £1.25 million refit.

The window, designed by Swansea-based artist Catrin Jones, contains 120 square metres of glass in its 16m span.

It concludes a modernisation programme which has also seen a new entrance and floor fitted.

Catrin, 43, said: "I started designing it last March. The council shortlisted four people they wanted to work with and we all came up with designs. "It's made of toughened glass and the design is silk-screened on. One of the centre panels, with a leaf on, was broken and because it's toughened glass it just explodes, so we had to replace it.

"It's amazing how much difference it makes now they've taken all the scaffolding down.

"The window is really about what goes on in the market. There's a lot of activity, there's a lot of bustle, and I've taken those essential elements and tried to express that and celebrate it. The flowers are to do with freshness and Newport blooming again - it's a forward-looking icon.

"It's something like a cathedral here but it's a very different kind of public space.

"I didn't want to use very hot colours because I wanted to tone down the heat coming in and cool the area slightly.

"Hopefully there's a bit of everything in there. All my work is in the public domain up and down the country, but apart from some small windows in Swansea most of it is outside Wales.

"So I'm particularly happy to have work in Newport because it's in Wales. "I'm going to be working on the new art centre in Newport - we'll be doing some glass cladding around the lift shaft, something I don't know that's been done anywhere before."

Councillor Ken Critchley, cabinet member for resources, said: "The window is a real masterpiece which really adds to the ambience of what is already a special building in the city.

"I hope that this piece of art will draw people into the building and I'm sure that they will be bowled over by what they see."