A LABOUR OF LOVE AND FAITH
Church windows are inspired by the Northern Lights
Regina glass artist Janice Stefan is not one to shy away from a challenge ― even a big one.
So when she was asked to create stained glass windows for Living Hope Alliance Church, a large, modern church in east Regina, she didn’t hesitate.
It was the first time the owner of Sisters Stones and Glass had tackled such a large, architectural glass project.
“They put a tremendous amount of faith in me,” Stefan said with a smile.
Because she regularly attends Living Hope Alliance, Stefan was particularly eager to create windows that reflect the colours and attitude the church wanted to convey.
“I think I was successful in doing that,” she said.
The windows ― a 10-foot-highby-28-foot-wide (3-by-8.5-metre) window in the sanctuary, and six 4-by-7-foot (1-by-2-metre) windows in the church’s entrance ― were inspired by the northern lights, and incorporate calm, serene blues and aquas.
“One of the things that struck me about the northern lights is when you’re looking at them, it’s almost like you can see the hand of God sketching them. I was really taken by that,” she explained. “So when they mentioned the colours and the attitude they wanted to convey, that’s what popped into my head right away.”
Because the church is located in a new neighbourhood, “they wanted to keep it somewhat abstract, not traditional stained glass windows that are leaded (and) have images that are recognizable. ... So that was the theme, northern lights in an interpretive way.”
Stefan tackled the large sanctuary window first. “It’s actually 14 panels that were two feet by 10 feet,” she explained.
To accommodate the large pieces, Stefan had to invest in a new $10,000, 4-by-3-foot (1.2-by-1-metre) kiln.
“I guess that’s one way to get a new kiln,” she laughed. “I had to get a garage door put into my shop so that I could get it delivered, in the middle of winter.”
The project started in fall of 2013. Initially, Stefan was recruited just to chat with the designer from the architectural firm hired by the church. The designer visited Stefan’s Regina studio/ store.
“I had no idea that they were considering using stained glass or coloured glass ... In my world architectural glass just means textured glass,” she said.
But as she looked around the studio at Stefan’s work, the designer asked if Stefan would “maybe contribute in some way.”
At the time, Stefan indicated “I’m pretty sure I could never make anything that large.”
But the idea percolated. And before she knew it, Stefan was creating the church windows. “It just morphed into a doable project. It was very organic.”
She decided to incorporate epoxy into her technique. Epoxy “is almost like clear nail polish. It’s hard, clear, hopefully permanent,” she explained.
Stefan received weekly deliveries of thick, tempered, glass panels from a commercial glass supplier. Her husband built a work table to accommodate the large glass panels.
She would put the large commercial glass panel on the work table, then lay out three of her stained glass panels, and fire those. It would take two days to fire each one.
“At the end of the week, when I had three panels, and they kind of fit together like a puzzle, I’d set up a dam around my table and pour the epoxy on the tempered glass, and then set my fusedglass panels into the epoxy,” she explained. “So each of those are sandwiched ― there’s the tempered glass, and then epoxy, and then my fused glass.”
The process, which was new to Stefan, wasn’t without minor flaws. There are some bubbles and cracks in the large sanctuary window. But, overall, it was successful.
“It’s a good thing this church is a faith-based organization, because they put a tremendous amount of faith in me. And it was a great honour to do it,” Stefan said.
“Obviously, now that I’ve made one, I would do things a little different. Probably, the panels were a bit big, that it trapped the bubbles in it. But live and learn.”
Stefan refined the process for the smaller windows. They’re not fired at all. Each window consists of four panels. “In this case, I used much smaller pieces that weren’t fired, and just laid them right into the epoxy. So more like a mosaic. That way you didn’t get the bubbles or the cracking.”
The large window cost $20,000 and the six smaller ones were done for $10,000.
“I can’t say that I made any money on this project personally, time-wise and as far as the materials go,” Stefan said with a chuckle. “But for me, it was never about the money. It was more about contributing, and the legacy, and the challenge. To get that opportunity was amazing.”
Would she tackle another church window ― despite the challenges presented by such a massive, stressful project?
“I would entertain the ideal of doing another,” she said with a smile. “It’s a learning curve.”