Round Window
The Eye, the Serpent, and six daggers of truth — a mandala of transformation, held in light.
See it
The finished piece, alive with sunlight. Every fragment of glass cut, leaded, and soldered by hand.
Imagine it
Sunset corridor
Garden alcove
Grand foyer
Collector's study
Sunset lounge
A mandala of
At the heart of this round window rests the ancient Eye, encircled by the Serpent. Together they embody awakened consciousness, hidden wisdom, and the eternal cycles of transformation. The serpent is no mere creature of mystery — it is Kundalini, the primordial life force coiled at the base of the human being. As it awakens, it rises through the subtle centers of the body, expanding perception and leading toward illumination. Coiled around the Eye, it becomes energy made conscious — wisdom that has completed its cycle, power held in perfect balance.
The Eye draws on one of the most enduring sacred emblems of ancient Egypt — protection, divine awareness, healing, and the restoration of wholeness after fragmentation. It sees both the visible and the invisible, the material and the spiritual. Within its stillness lives a penetrating vision — a silent intelligence that discerns the truths hidden beneath appearances.
Around this central union, six daggers rise with unwavering precision. They stand for discernment, courage, and the uncompromising force of truth. Their purpose is not violence but revelation — they pierce illusion, ego, fear, and self-deception. The red along their edges is blood itself: the vital current of life and the deep personal transformation that accompanies every real awakening.
Radiating equally in every direction, the six blades affirm that nothing stays hidden from awakened awareness. Their movement reaches beyond the physical world into the invisible dimensions of the human being, passing through the deepest layers of consciousness — a reminder that true vision extends beyond appearances, beyond personality, beyond even the instinct for self-preservation.
Serpent, Eye, and blades form a single mandala: awakened life force, illumined perception, and the disciplined courage to dissolve illusion — united in the harmonious geometry of the round window.
The Artist
Costa Rican master of grisaille-painted stained glass
Sylvia Laks is a Costa Rican artist whose grisaille-painted stained glass reveals a masterful command of pigment, firing, and light. Trained in academic realism at Atelier del Sol, she creates almost mythical figures whose realistic expressions seem to speak directly to the viewer. Her work spans religious commissions, museum collections, and private installations across the Americas and the Holy Land.
Through her understanding of light and the way it passes through glass, Laks creates almost mythical figures that seem to speak directly to the viewer.
Awards & Recognition
Sylvia Laks's exceptional skill as a portrait artist has enabled her to portray the human figure through a variety of artistic media, with realism serving as the defining expression of her work. Whether working in charcoal or pastel on paper, or in oil on linen, Laks focuses primarily on the human figure, crowned by deeply expressive faces. Equally noteworthy are her grisaille-painted stained-glass works, which demonstrate her masterful command of pigments, painting media, firing temperatures, and glass textures. In essence, Sylvia Laks's portraits allow us to glimpse the souls of her subjects.
Highlights
“Spinner of Souls,” “Witch,” and “Expectation” are held at the Smith Museum of Stained Glass and American Art, Chicago.
Our Lady of the Angels, Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth, Israel.
Four large panels for Roots of Knowledge at Utah Valley University, and the Alchemy window for Uroboros Glass, Portland.
Has taught grisaille glass painting to master artists at SGAA Annual Conferences, and runs intensive courses at her studio in San Rafael de Heredia, Costa Rica.
The wider
The Round Window belongs to a larger body of work: the symbolic stained glass of the Sun Castle. Each window carries its own meaning and its own place in the building, and each may be dedicated by a single founding patron.
From her love, all life flourishes
The Celestial Mother embodies the feminine power of creation and unconditional love. Sun and Moon frame the eternal rhythm of life: day and night, growth and rest, giving and receiving.
Awaken your infinite joy
Six petals emerge like an ancient secret and, unfolding, become twelve. At the center a sun both illuminates and shelters a hidden origin, extending into six realms where the soul blossoms.
Step through the gate
The central circle is the expanding creative mind, interwoven with the Egyptian Ouroboros: nothing has a beginning or an end. Twenty circles stand for the patience that spiritual growth requires.
Honor the Earth, nurture life
A square — the form of the earth — framed by twelve dates for the months and seasons. Along its sides the four elements, joined by the fifth, the ether, that gives meaning to the others.
Embrace the light
The peacock embodies protection, healing and rebirth, echoing Bennu, the sacred bird of renewal. Its golden plumage forms an embracing circle — a symbolic shelter for the sacredness of life.
Enter the mystery
An alchemical portal inspired by the Black Sun. Its swirling design imagines darkness as the womb of creation, while transparent sections welcome the real sky into the composition.
Symbolism, placements and dedication terms for every window live on the Foundation site.
See the full collectionThe
Format
Round window
Diameter
110 cm
Technique
Hand-cut stained glass, leaded
Edition
Unique · one of one
Origin
Costa Rica · Arinnitti Future of Humankind Foundation
Viewing
Costa Rica, by appointment
Delivery
Local hand-delivery in Costa Rica; worldwide by arrangement
Starting bid
$25,000 USD · Benefit auction
Place a
Opening bid · $25,000 USD
Offered in a benefit auction. Private viewing and secure hand-delivery in Costa Rica. International shipping by arrangement.
All proceeds support the Arinnitti Future of Humankind Foundation.