I turned 48 on Friday, May 15th, and I will tell you about the most exciting birthday I've had in a long time!
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| How sweet! |
But not because of the cake, though it was sweet and thoughtful! It was about the Window!
The last time we saw the
quatrefoil window , the frame was remade. Meanwhile, glass artist extraordinaire
Tom Newton had been plotting and planning the glass art for the window.
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| Shadowed in Mystery! |
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| ???... |
Today was the day. The window was to arrive, and installation was to begin!
But let's go back in time...on May 15, 1967, a young woman named Carolyn (Ma!) was giving birth to a 10 pound baby. That was me. Sorry, Ma. Fast forward 48 years, and that baby now weighs 133 pounds and now a project taking nearly four years and much of her resources to gestate is finally coming to fruition. But, as with any good thing, its beauty is from the Grace of God and the reflection of him in the people around us. Tom and Sandie are such reflections.
Here's Sandie putting the clear glass down on the outside.
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| It fits! |
Next comes the artwork.
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| The little sticker says, "Made In Germany" |
The glass is pre-war WW2 german glass the Tom acquired in a business deal. The clear glass goes on the outside, the precious colored glass on the inside. I was honored when he noticed the glazing I had done on the Church windows and asked if I'd like to help glaze this window. Yes please!
So here's the process:
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| Outer Pieces |
Next:
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| Inner Circle piece |
And altogether:
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| Ahhhhhhh! |
And so. The little pieces of tape help align the glass pieces. The tacks (unseen) hold the glass in, and the glazing seals the whole bit.
Tom and Sandie cleaned it up and got it ready for the install.
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| They clean it with a fine powder that takes all the fingerprints off! |
The install was a feat of engineering. The chief engineer this day happened to be our electrician, Dave Schramski. It was a perfect example of teamwork. Dave had an idea, and we all wanted someone with a good idea to tell us how to get this work of art up a ladder without breaking it!
A frame was built!
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| That's Schramski on the faaaar right... |
The window was laid in...
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| Careful there! |
And then wrapped for uber protection aloft.
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| Are we mailing this to Hong Kong? |
No, just trying to get it safely to the window opening..
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| It's not a hauling project without ropes! |
So two men were carrying it up the ladder, and Mike and I were on the ropes pulling it up. It went quite smoothy, but I couldn't take pictures since I had promised to have both hands on the rope! Luckily Sandie did and was kind enough to send them to me. But I do believe Kind is Sandie's middle name!
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| Upsy-daisy! |
Up it went in its cocoon, and Chief Shramski went out on the ladder to make sure the window didn't get pushed through to the ground. ( I still have shocking memories of having pushed an air conditioner out a second story window trying to install it!)
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| He didn't like it when a gust of wind pushed the door against the ladder… |
Inside, the boys had to loft the window into place.
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| Careful! |
And of course, final adjustments must be made!
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| Rotate Counterclockwise. No, that's Clockwise to you! |
It was a logistical puzzle. But we did it, and the window was installed. All that remained was for nature to light it up!
And, of course, nature showed up for the job!
What do you think?
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| It's in! |
And so, God said, let there be light!
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| Let There Be Light! |
Happy birthday, Glorious Window!
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| Yes! |
