light made solid

Stained glass has many applications outside of religious settings. People are always finding new ways to make art objects and craft pieces utilizing stained glass. The Akron Beacon Journal has an article about a local woman named Lisa Kane who has made a business out of selling what she calls "Flower Glass":

Kane, 37, puts her pressed flowers between two pieces of thin, clear glass and then creates borders using colorful art glass. Most customers hang her art in windows to get the full effect of the way light interacts with the colors and bevels in glass. She also makes stained glass art without flowers, such as wall mirrors framed with art glass, trinket boxes, candle holders, night lights, magnets and business card holders. Many of these items also feature beads.

The article features additional information about her craft techniques and use of stained glass, along with information on where to purchase her work.

Stained glass news out of Cincinnati, OH: in 1947, high winds and severe weather destroyed a rose window above the entrance at Holy Cross Immaculata Church. Strapped for cash at the time, the church decided to brick up the opening, rather than have the window repaired.

Now, more than fifty years later, a beautiful rose window is coming back to Holy Immaculata. The new window was salvaged from nearby St. Bonaventure Church which was closed and torn down in 2003. The pastoral staff at Holy Immaculata managed to raise the $44,000 required to install the new window, and guard against future weather damage. The funds were raised by the community, along with a sizeable grant from a local foundation. HGC Construction of Cincinnati headed the restoration project.

Mother Earth News has an excellent article by Jo Frohbieter Mueller on how to get started in doing amateur stained glass work. Mueller goes through all the basics of what you need to buy in materials to get started. And she has lots of good suggestions for books and other things to help you along your path. There's also some good inspiration in this piece for new artists, as she talks about how her and her husband working together on glass have started to make a decent profit doing it. Definitely worth reading.

Stained glass news out of Liverpool, England: The World of Glass Museum in St. Helens is having four of its panels restored. They will be restored at Liverpool's Conservation Centre. The panels were originally created by 1930s by Hungarian artist Ervin Bossyani, who has a growing reputation in the glass field.

Stained glass news out of Elmira, NY: the First United Church of Christ has recently completed restoration on all of its windows. In celebration of this, the church held an event featuring an organ recital and dedication. The music was performed by Thomas Marshall who plays professionally with the Virginia and Richmond symphonies and who teaches harpsichord, piano and organ at the College of William and Mary in Virginia.

If you're new to stained glass or curious about it's origins, you might want to check out this short article at the Herald Dispatch by Jean McClelland. McClelland is an antiques writer and enthusiast who has put together a very simple and concise overview of the history of stained glass from ancient to modern times. She also has some simple tips for would-be collectors of stained glass.

Here's proof that taking stained glass courses really does pay off. From the Algarve Resident, a Portughese newspaper, UK glass student John Scott created two stained glass windows for a class run in Guilford by Rachel Milligan. Scott brought the completed windows and presented them as a gift to Portugal's Silves Cathedral. The windows will replace two windows which were weathered beyond repair in the 15th century chapel of the Jago de Rego in the cathedral.

Scott exclaims:

'I feel honoured and indebted to the adult education centre, which has run the stained glass window class for the past four years at the Guildford centre.'

What a great inspiration for stained glass students everywhere!