Winter 2018 came in like a LION at Rose Window Stained Glass!

I spent much of January living with the Sisters of St. Martha removing their beautiful stained glass from the Bethany Chapel and moving it to new locations. I also designed, cut, laminated and installed Stained Glass Art on my front lawn. For this project I used optically clear 2 part silicone that is designed to withstand re entry into the earth’s atmosphere! Let’s see if it can stand up to Terence Bay Nova Scotia!

Cantate Domino

Just before Christmas I created a commemorative window using gorgeous mouth-blown in Germany Lamberts graduated blue flashed glass, engraved and painted. Here are 3 views of the process of engraving, painting, and multiple firings, prior to leading and puttying.

The Sisters of St Martha, Antigonish

The Sisters are moving from their current Motherhouse to their new Shannex retirement home across the field. The new building will allow the sisters to continue their good work without the stress of caring for a large old building. Their beautiful Bethany Chapel had 40 lancet windows, made in 1963 at Rambausch Studios, NY. Each lancet was 40 ft tall, comprised of 10 panels. I was hired last summer to consult regarding relocation of the stained glass. Ultimately the Sisters asked me to organize and orchestrate the whole process, which I did with the help of 2 fine local men who could operate a scissor lift and follow the procedure I had laid out. All the panels had to be removed and crated, labelled according to their new destination, including a Heritage Gallery, a Chapel, and a Resource Centre. There were also 100 panels in the narthex to be removed and crated. In all, we handled 500 window panels. As they were removed, they were inspected for repairs, which I did on site before reinstalling into their new locations.

The windows are largely abstract with symbols of water drops and leaves throughout. There are 8 figurative windows. 8 Female Saints, 4 contemplative and 4 active. Here are some pictures.

Back in the studio

Classes have been ongoing throughout the winter. Here are some of the projects! 🙂 The final series of weekly classes before the Summer begins soon. If you and some friends of family would like a Half-day or Full-day Workshop in Stained Glass or Mosaic, pick a Saturday and I will arrange everything! Click here for ideas! 

There have also been some very nice repairs and restorations brought into the studio this season! One china cabinet, passed down through the generations, originally from France and owned by Jesuits in Montreal, received damage by movers’ knees. What seemed like a disaster to the owners was fixed as good as new. After all, that’s what our profession is trained to do!! In the picture you can see my colleague Philip Doucette inside the china cabinet!! Another lovely Victorian transom needed a rebuild and the wooden frame stripped of its layers of paint – as expected, the frame is the original old growth oak. They don’t grow trees like that anymore! Click here to learn more about Stained Glass Repair. Free estimates! Click here for contact information!

New Work

There is a lot going on at Rose Window Stained Glass. Two original designs are on the drafting board. Did you know I draw and draft my patterns using pencil and paper? Oh, and an eraser! Such joy and a great intimacy develops with the work. Clearly computers have their place but honing skills the old fashioned way connects me with my predecessors and a long noble history I can only aspire to be worthy of. I almost forgot to say  that I am thrilled to bits to be going to France for the first time this Fall!! I will finally get to experience the great stained glass cathedrals of that country!! I will keep you posted! Until then, I have exciting stained glass things on the horizon I look forward to telling you about. Come by and visit if you’re in the area!