TIFTON — All lights were off at Plough Gallery on Saturday, Jan. 26. They were rendered unnecessary by the latest exhibit, “Lightbox.”

Backlit, faux stained glass depicting symbols and scenes of Tifton, from the city map to peanut plants, protruded from the walls of the gallery. Some filled entire walls, while others could nearly fit in an 8-by-10 frame. It was the playful work of Ruth Stanford.

Stanford is currently an associate professor of sculpture at Georgia State University in Atlanta. She often makes site specific sculpture that is inspired by current issues or the physical location it will be displayed in. She was invited by the gallery to make an observational trip to Tifton and study the town a year ago.

“This is the work that she has created in the observation of our community,” said Mark Errol, gallery owner, when introducing the artist.

“I did a lot of reading and thinking about Tifton and came down and visited,” said Stanford, talking at the exhibit Saturday. “And, you know, what it boiled down to is I just kind of like the feel of the place. I just wanted to capture some of that.”

The motifs in her work included farm animals and equipment, plants and water towers, general symbols anyone might associate with the rural south. But they were fused together with unique characteristics of Tifton, including the Town Terrace motel sign, the lion head atop the courthouse and maps of the city all recreated in broken, vibrant faux stained glass.

The light boxes were made using corrugated plastic, made for greenhouses, with the imagery on the back of the panel. The black lines separating the “panes” were hand drawn with sharpie. Colored self-adhesive film was hand cut and layered onto the back of the panels.

“It’s not high tech,” she joked.

Formerly an ecologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Central Texas, Stanford admitted having a scientific approach when creating artwork. She begins with research, allowing that process to guide her. When explaining her approach to art making, Stanford recalled a conversation she had when she decided to leave her government job to go to art school. She was told, “The only thing art school is gonna teach you is how to look at things differently.”

 She laughed and agreed. She hoped “Lightbox” does the same for Tifton residents.

During her artist talk, one attendant asked if there was a purposeful selection of objects to be depicted in a stained glass format, usually associated with worship and reverence.

Stanford answered, “Well in my mind, some of these objects like the chicken or cow, they’re just cool, you know?”

Attendants laughed and she continued.

“But like a water tower or a tractor? I feel a reverence for those things because of the way they are constructed,” she said. “And because of the way they weather. They look cool when they’re new, they look cool when they’re 20 years old, and they look cool when they’re sitting out in a field and nobody’s thought about it in 50 years.”

Stanford said she realized it would be hard to work with tractors every day and see them as interesting, powerful machines and sculptures.

“So maybe even though I’ve used the image of a water tower, maybe it’s presented in a new and interesting way. Maybe it will make the people who look at those every day, and don’t think twice, look at it a little closer,” she said.

“Lightbox” is on display now at Plough Gallery and will be available for viewing for approximately two months. The gallery is located at 216 W Eighth Street.