Tag: NSDCC
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!
Glorious September!!
In many ways September is the beginning of the New Year. The crisp nights foretell Autumn, though the days are still hot after the dew burns off. Summer holidays end and classes begin, marking a return to predictable schedules. Classes will resume at Rose Window Stained Glass too, which led me to revisit my own first stained glass class in 1994. A mom with 3 young kids, my career in the graphics/printing industry had just been eliminated by computers. I knew I wanted to use my ability to draw. At a Quaker Meeting one Sunday morning I was entranced by the light cast on the floor through the 1860s clear glass. Its undulating dance struck me profoundly. I understood like an epiphany that glass is like people. We all have unique Light inside us that, when expressed, enriches everyone’s experience. Light moving through glass took on a metaphoric spiritual significance that has guided me for decades. I signed up for a beginner class at Sunrise Stained Glass in which everyone made a hummingbird the first night. I remember how challenging it was to cut out those 7 little pieces! I gave the hummingbird to my mother, who especially loved the cranberry stained glass throat – she had expensive taste, as anyone who has ever purchased that glass knows! It’s made with real gold, did you know? As an Artist and Designer, I design my own patterns. Here is one of the first.
You may wonder if it’s ok to copy stained glass from the internet, and the answer is typically no, unless you have permission. There are lots of free patterns available, and some for sale. At Rose Window Stained Glass, students are encouraged to work from public domain patterns, stained glass patterns available in studio, or design their own with guidance.
Click HERE for Class Info!
Click HERE to Contact, Inquire, or join the Mailing List!
What’s new in the Studio?
Lynette Richards participated in the Craft Nova Scotia (formerly NSDCC) Summer Show in Victoria Park and the Peggy’s Cove Studio Tour. Thank you to all the visitors who came and brightened my time!!
Rose Window Stained Glass has been busy caring for our heritage stained glass! Call for inspection and estimates.
Church Stained Glass Care, Repair and Restoration
Christ Knocking is a familiar image, originally a painting by William Holman Hunt, also called the Light of the World. This is the most reproduced new world image requested by churches. This version required full restoration of all panels, and reproduction of some painted pieces, to replace smashed glass and fragile lead came. The picture below is shown before puttying, which darkens the lead and makes the stained glass waterproof and air tight.
Philip Doucette and Lynette Richards have removed, repaired and reinstalled stained glass in several churches this season! Philip let me wear his vintage hardhat in this photo!
Custom Order Stained Glass
When this church was sold, the new owner commissioned me to create a commemorative stained glass window of it to hang inside the renovated church, now cottage, forever.
Private Class!
A local artist, Kathy Kaulbach, asked if she could hire me to instruct her to adapt her (already formidable) skills to glass to make a wedding gift! She spent a dozen hours in studio with me and created a wonderful painted fused glass gift. It recalls bonfires on Parrsboro Beach. She mounted the finished fused glass to a hardwood base. What a special gift!
Get on the MAILING LIST!
Spring Green and Peepers Singing!
The studio has been busy this season. Classes are finished but there will be 2 Summer Workshops announced soon.
Here is a peek at what has been happening inside Rose Window Stained Glass these last couple of months.
Lynette delivered and installed the Poppy Lily of the Valley window and it looks great!
A massive 8 foot diameter Victorian lamp made the journey from a Hamilton Ontario bar, where it had hung for 125 years, to a renovated church in Fox Point NS. It needed to be completely rebuilt before its next era. The client will send a photo once the panels are installed into the iron frame! Can’t wait!
This little copper foil lampshade got grabbed by the dog and dragged around a bit in Antigonish. It survived pretty well but needed some TLC! The dog is in the dog house!
Philip and Lynette returned the stained glass window to Kings College Chapel after repairing the buckling lower panel. The window was made in England at J Wippel Co, c1955.
Students made some great stained glass this Winter season! Classes resume in the Fall but there will be 2 One Day Workshops offered during the summer. Stay tuned for the dates. Make sure you are on the mailing list!
Three hundred bucks crashed to the cold hard floor. This window had been purchased from a crafter but common construction mistakes secured its early demise. It would cost as much or more to repair this than to remake it from scratch. Hopefully she’ll take a class and make it herself! This is a good beginner project!!
Spring is in the Air
We had a few snow days but now you can smell Spring on the breeze. The days are getting noticeably longer and this next series of classes includes the switch to Daylight Saving Time!
Classes begin soon! March 13 is less than 2 weeks away! Please sign up NOW to get a spot. 6 Mondays, 9:30-11:30 OR 7-9pm. $150
Monday MORNINGS Click Here
Monday EVENINGS Click Here
To get on the Mailing List Click Here
What’s new in the Studio?
This custom Poppy Lily of the Valley window is almost complete!
Also finished restoring this lovely turn of the century stained glass window!
As always, please call or come by!
Winter 2017
Winter is a wonderful time for stained glass. The twinkling snow is a perfect background, and the long angles of the winter sun make colours dance across rooms. You can really notice the length of daylight increasing by paying attention to where the light falls each day.
Rose Window Stained Glass has had its busiest January ever!
Classes
Full classes are well under way. If you’e like to take the next set of classes, they begin on March 13, 2017.
Sign up early to avoid disappointment!
Restoration
We have several restoration projects currently underway in local churches. Philip Doucette and Lynette Richards collaborate on restoration and repair of sacred stained glass. Together we have over 50 years experience. We are both Master Artisans with the NSDCC. Contact Lynette for a free estimate and appraisal of damage. Lynette and Philip are also able to provide you with the probable age and origin of your windows.
Also on the bench in Lynette’s studio is this great Victorian lamp! And I do mean GREAT! Once reassembled, it will span 8 feet! It comes from a strip club in Hamilton Ontario and is coated in nicotine!! Not all fun and games, eh! It will be hung in a renovated heritage building in Fox Point NS!
Custom Stained Glass
In early January, Lynette replaced a plain glass window with a custom made leaded beveled glass window in the interior vestibule door in Halifax’s south end.
Lynette has 2 private commissions on the go. One is a painted panel with poppies and lily of the valley. The design is approved, and enlaged to size and glass cutting will begin soon. The second is still a secret. Stay tuned!
As always, contact Lynette for inquiries or free estimates!
Looking Forward
As daylight lengthens Winter strengthens. The long angles of the sun in winter, combined with snow covered backgrounds, activate stained glass like no other season can. If you get the blues during the dark season, consider coming to my studio to play with light and colour. Honestly! It makes a real difference!
Give the Gift of Light
The Tiny Stained Glass Windows shown above, and much more are available for purchase at Made in the Maritimes and the Designer Craft Shop or directly from me!
Gift Certificates are available! Call me or write. I can get you printed Gift Certificates, or send them by email for you to print. I will send you an invoice which can be paid by etransfer or credit card.
CLASSES and WORKSHOPS 2017
New CLASSES and WORKSHOPS begin in mid January. Please let me know right away if you want to reserve your spot! Start dates will be announced soon and posted on the CLASSES PAGE of my website! Get on my mailing list for email notifications too!!
Looking Backwards
Fall and Winter 2016 Classes and Workshops were filled! Here are some examples of the great results by people in my studio! Everyone started as a beginner, but many have come over and over and built skills so they are now designing and building quality stained glass!! Original designs are automatically copyrighted by the designer and permission must be received to copy them.
November 18,19,20
Please visit me next weekend in booth 201 at the NSDCC Winter Show at the Cunard Centre! Introduce yourself!
November 27
Then come to our POP UP SHOW! at Anne Pryde’s home, 224 Club Road, Hatchet Lake, Sunday November 27th 1-4pm.
You can also find my work at these fine LOCAL SHOPS!
Made in the Maritimes
Sunnyside Mall, Bedford NS * 902-406-2222
5527 Young Street, Halifax NS * 902-406-3232
Designer Craft Shop
1099 Marginal Rd #116, Halifax *902-492-2525
http://www.craft-design.ns.ca/shop/designer-craft-shop
Rose Window Stained Glass
731 Terence Bay Rd * 902-402-3104
Crouchers Point Gallery * http://www.crouchersptgallery.com/
NovelTea Truro Bookstore Cafe * 622 Prince St, Truro * (902) 895-8329
Ross Farm * 4568 Highway 12, New Ross, NS * 902-689-2210
Check out this GREAT LOCAL online catalogue!
The LOCAL WISH LIST!
http://halifaxbloggers.ca/thelocaltraveler/localwishlist/
SUMMER WORKSHOPS 2016!
The studio was hoppin’ these past few days!
2016 Limited Edition
Two brand new limited editions of original Tiny Stained Glass Windows are now available. Choose framed 8″ Lobster Boats, or framed 6″ Terence Bay Lighthouse and 6″ Seagull Over Prospect Bay Islands. Purchase directly from Lynette Richards, or in shops and at Art Shows.
Click here to visit Lynette’s SHOP where you can view them all.
Contact to find out how to take home an authentic piece of Nova Scotia!
