Our afternoon was spent working with a stained glass window. Intimately.
Grab a coup of coffee and listen to the tale of a fateful trip . . .
About a week ago I was working with a friend on a Generational Education space in an older church. Way back when they had Victorian era stained glass windows removed from their church. They had a lovely one depicting the open Bible.
I offered to take it to our “Glass Guy” for pricing. He priced way beyond this church’s ability to pay. Sigh. Mike, the Glass Guy, told me in no uncertain terms of the deep fragility of the piece. Yes. The lead is cracked and brittle. Yes. The window frame is lose. Yes. It shouldn’t be moved. Yes. The section that someone has removed is crumbling from the weigh of the other glass. Yes. Sigh. If pieces start to come out, there will be trouble reassembling it. Yes. I will have to number the pieces, trace them into a larger template. Yes. See the pricing sheet I gave you. Sigh.
I can get it back to the church.
We made it home. Yey!
After locating a piece of tag board large enough, we slid the window onto it. Sigh. Safe until tomorrow when we can return it.
Pieces of glass began to break out of their rotted lead fittings. Oh my.
JV practically giggled with anticipation. He was itching to take it apart and meticulously transfer, number, and trace the pieces. Mike the Glass Guy had likened it to tracing all the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Yes. Difficult. Yes. (JV drooling – Yes!!) So there we stood – well, I stood; JV knelt and caressed the broken section.
AV, not to be left out, began to delicate work of cleaning the pieces and carefully removing others as JV fitted them into the pattern on another piece of paper. Note the picture. He is not cutting towards himself. He is prying up the lead. Yes. Lead. No, he won’t eat any. Eat your heart out China toy manufactures.
They worked for 3 solid hours with one snack break. 
Tomorrow the pieces will be traced and the future possibilities for this treasure will be safe. Ahhh.
The Inclusive Atrium 