The Art of Stain Glass Restoration

Today on The Porch, Brian speaks with Robert Weissmann, a stained glass artist, who shares his journey into the world of glass art, discussing the intricacies of stained glass creation and restoration. Robert reflects on his experiences with various projects, including the restoration of windows from St. Teresa's Academy, and the historical significance of stained glass in architecture. The discussion also touches on the technical aspects of stained glass, the challenges faced in the industry, and the future of this art form in Medicine Hat. Weissmann emphasizes the importance of preserving historical windows and the community's role in supporting local art.

Robert Weissmann is a seasoned glass artist with decades of experience in stained glass restoration. Having apprenticed under a master in Toronto, Weissmann has built a career reviving and maintaining stained glass windows, contributing significantly to the cultural heritage of his community and many others.

Weissmann's journey into the world of stained glass began at a young age when he spent time with his uncle, a master glass artist. This early exposure sparked a passion for the medium, leading Weissmann to pursue an apprenticeship and ultimately start his own business. His dedication to the craft is evident in his meticulous restoration work, which combines technical skill with a deep appreciation for the artistry involved.

The stained glass windows from St. Teresa's Academy have a rich history, having been removed and stored improperly for decades. Weissmann was first contacted in 2011 to assess the condition of these windows, which were found outside, exposed to the elements. After years of assessments and discussions, he took on the challenge of restoring these windows, ensuring they would be preserved for future generations.

Stained glass is not just a decorative element; it tells stories and reflects the culture and history of the time it was created. Each piece serves as a window into the past, connecting viewers with the artistry, craftsmanship, and narratives of previous generations. Weissmann’s work in restoring these windows is crucial in keeping these stories alive.

- **Artistry and Craftsmanship**: Stained glass restoration is a delicate process that requires both artistic vision and technical skill.
- **Cultural Significance**: Preserving stained glass windows helps maintain the historical and cultural identity of a community.
- **Personal Connection**: Weissmann’s personal journey illustrates the deep connection artists have with their medium and the importance of mentorship in the arts.

The restoration of stained glass windows is a labor of love that not only revives beautiful artworks but also preserves history. As we continue to explore and appreciate these stunning pieces, we deepen our understanding of the stories they tell and the cultural heritage they represent. For more insights into stained glass artistry and restoration.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Stained Glass Art
03:07 The Journey of a Glass Artist
05:48 Restoration Projects and Their Significance
08:29 The Technical Aspects of Stained Glass
11:41 The Future of Stained Glass in Medicine Hat
14:36 Exhibitions and Community Engagement

You can find out more about Roberts work by visiting his facebook page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063586880359&sk=reels_tab

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Transcript

0:00

Hey, this is Brian again. And I'd like to ask you to do a favour. We can't do this work without people like you. So if you can, please. Like, share, subscribe, tell your friends about bring back the Porch. The best glass you can use. It's called antique glass. And it’s hand blown. There's one company in the States that still does it, but most of it, is, from Europe, like from Germany. There used to be companies in, in England and France, and they've just they're gone. Yeah. Because nobody wants stained glass anymore. It's so expensive now that's the biggest problem. It's it's, you know, a window I could have made ten years ago for $1,000 will now probably cost you at least 5 or 6000 more. Yeah, it's it's crazy. This episode of Bring Back the Porch, brought to you by Bernie Leahy, River Street Realty. Let's get you home. If you have been around Medicine Hat in the last little while and been observant, you probably have seen in the corner of the Esplanade, an old stained glass window. And if you have driven down Fifth Avenue past the Fifth Avenue Memorial Church or Saint John's Presbyterian Church, or past the Saint Barnabas Anglican Church, you've seen this man's work, and I'm very pleased to welcome into the porch this morning, Robert Weissmann. Welcome. Thank you. Good to be here. Yes. Now, I was saying before we went on the air that your work fascinates me. You work with stained glass and to me that I just think of my fingers, I just. But you have chosen that as a medium. How did you become a glass artist? One of my dad's brothers is a master in glass. Back in Toronto and I remember. Oh, it's probably 14 or 15. I spent a weekend with him and, he showed me how to build a, a lamp. Which I still have. And that was sort of the start of it, like a Tiffany style lamp, which is built like a four sided lamp. You put a candle in the middle and, Okay. Yeah. So what was it about the glass that spoke to you just to feel really, you know, I've always said that, doing stained glass is, is a touch, work, you know, and, Yeah, that's how I got into it. You just. It was just a natural. A marriage between you and the glass, I think so, you know, I was doing drawing and sculpting at the time, and when I found glass, everything just came together. And, I was really fortunate enough to get a apprenticeship in Toronto. Back in, the late 70s, I guess. So that happened for three years. And then myself and another fellow who was apprenticing and of course we learned so much, we went and started our own business and it went quite well. We were doing a lot of new windows and a lot of restoration. Yeah. The restoration is, is, what we have seen you do here in Medicine Hat I mentioned, Fifth Avenue, Saint Barnabas and Saint John. Any of those three projects that got in your mind is as being special? Are they all unique? They're all unique because they're all different, different styles. But, Fifth Avenue became my second home. You know, even when I was living back in Victoria, I was still restoring windows on Fifth Avenue. So I was coming back and forth and, I just love being in that church, you know, it's peaceful, very peaceful. And the way the sun comes in and catches the colors and, you know, the whole room just kind of dances. Yeah. It does. The history of stained glass. The light goes back centuries. Oh, yeah. Did you a part of your apprenticeship have to learn all of that? No. So you didn't have to worry about the history. You just worry about what was. Yeah, you know, what was in front of you. But, fortunately, two years ago, my wife and I went to France. And the windows that I had seen most of my life in, in books on stained glass, they were there, you know, and it was just an amazing thing to stand in front of. And, you know, some of those windows are over a thousand years old. Yeah. It's amazing that the glass has not shattered over that period of time. Does it become brittle over with age? Not really. Really. No, no, it's, what amazes me is, is how they got those windows way up in those cathedrals with the equipment they had. Exactly. You know, and and even how they built those cathedrals. It was, it's just, my mouth just opened up and nothing came out, you know, you were in, Oh, yeah. As most of us are when we look at those, the art history of stained glass. I'm thinking, too, that, when they had to lift those frames into place with the glass, with the glass had been in the frames with the glass had been put into the frame after it was installed. After it was installed. Okay. Yeah. Because I was thinking the torsion that would just. Yeah. Be too much for that glass. Yeah, yeah. So you your latest project is one that also fascinates me. And that is the restoration of the stained glass windows from the Saint Teresa's Academy that once graced, the, south face of, Crescent Heights. Tell me how you got involved in that. I believe it was back in, 2011 or 12. I got an email, and I was living in Victoria at the time, and it was an email from the Historic society here in Medicine Hat, and they asked me if I could go and, assess these windows that they were looking at to bring back. The, the windows were at a place called, Capital Iron. And they were outside sitting on, a sea can know, you know, lying horizontal. And they'd been out there for 30 years or so, since the 1973 when they took them down right. So the guy, got a forklift, took them off the sea can, of course. Yeah. Three of these windows were, 15ft or 16ft tall and 2 were 20. So they just they were bouncing and, we got them on the ground. There was plywood over top of them. I took the plywood off and you could just see, the break through glass that had happened over the years. And the frames, the wooden frames, I mean, they were original frames from France. Yeah. So there was, there was, they needed to be restored. And you were the man to do it. Well, yeah, I was, and I sent them my report, and I never heard anything back. And so I actually moved, to Medicine Hat here. I think it was in, 2018 or or 17. And I got a phone call from Judy Morris. Oh, yes, from the Historical Society. And she wanted me to come and assess these windows again because they're in Medicine Hat now. Oh, they hadn't been in Medicine Hat. Oh, no. Oh, no, they were, they were in Victoria. Oh, yeah. That's a circuitous route. Well, apparently, when the the windows were removed from the original, Academy, one of the people that removed the one of the workers, his wife had been, to school there. Okay. And they were a company from Victoria, I think. And so, obviously nobody cared about the windows, and they just took them. Yeah. And then now now the historic society was trying to bring them back. Okay. So I went and I looked at the windows again and, we assessed them again because now they've moved some more times. So they were bouncing more and they were at it, a truck firm here. And then I guess they moved them again. So they're bouncing again to I-XL. Okay. And that's where I went a third time to go and, and see them. And that's when some decisions were made on, we're going to restore these things, but we have to find a place for them, where to put them when they're finished. And that proved to be the hardest part because of the size. Yeah. And I know the historic society tried really hard to, to place these, and it just didn't happen. So they came to me and said, you want to buy them? And we talked about it, and, they were talking about maybe, selling them to a firm in Calgary that, you know, They, I doubt they would have restored them, probably would have broken them up and just partially right. I would think so. And I didn't want to see the windows leave Medicine Hat again. Good for you. You know, there's there's historic value in that. There's a story in it. You know, I've only lived here about ten years, but I've heard a lot of stories about a lot of buildings that disappeared. Yeah. Lost to the Sands of Time. Yeah, yeah. And that's a real shame. Yeah. So I didn't know what I was going to do with them. Explain that to your wife. Well, the the the good news there was. I mean, I told the historical society I didn't want the windows. If I had to move them from I-XL. Said nowhere to put them. And, thankfully, I could, I could store them there. Okay. So you began work on restoring them around 2018, 19, 20. Do you have a time frame? I think around, 2019 because up until then, there was nobody who wanted them. So there was no rush. There was no rush. But there's a lot of fear on my side because I always think of, what am I going to do with these things? Yeah. You know, if anything happens to me or whatever. When you started working on the the condition compared to when you first looked at them in Victoria in 2010 and all the moves in between, I guess there had been further damage there. Yeah, there had, small pieces, just a lot of cracks in the glass. I mean, the lead is good for about seven years. In a perfect world, 70, 70. And then then it started to break down the cement and it, starts to crumble and then the windows get really, loose. You know, we could bang on them and they'd rattle. They start to buckle and bow. Okay. And these windows were definitely, at that stage without the forklifts, prodding them further along. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You mentioned the lead. That's a key component of, stained glass windows. Why did they choose lead when they first started making stained glass, was there something that made it, flexible, or was it just something that worked out? Well, it is flexible. Why they started with lead? I don't know, it's just history. Yeah, it's a good question. The the art form or the craft has not changed. In well over a thousand years. The tools are basically the same, you know, and all you need is a glass cutter and in your hands and. Well, that's experience. Yeah. You know, it, it doesn't come right away. I think experience is probably hard learned, because if you break something, how do you put it back together again? Well, you can I mean, if you have a really, really old windows and you want to keep it totally original, you'll just let everything together, okay? All the broken pieces, you'll keep those. Sometimes if you're doing repairs and restoration, you may make a new piece. And try to replicate the old piece that came out is all stained glass the same or they all have different properties. Because is it a special kind of glass that you have to use? It depends on the job. And it depends on the budget. The best glass you can use, it's called antique glass, and it's hand-blown. There's one company in the States that still does it, but most of it, is, from Europe, like from Germany. There used to be companies and in England and France and they've just they're gone now because nobody wants stained glass anymore. It's so expensive now. Okay. That's the biggest problem. It's, it's, you know, when do I, I could have made ten years ago for $1,000 will now probably cost you at least 5 or 6000 more. Yeah, it's it's crazy. Okay. When you go down to the corner of the, Esplanade, the facing on the southwest corner, you can still see one of the original windows from Saint Theresa's. They're unrestored. Yeah. And also around the corner, there's various smaller pieces that is your work as well, I believe. Yes. Yes, there's, four showcases. And, I was asked, last year if I would like to, put my work in those, showcases for six months and. Yeah. And it's done now. Do you have plans to restore that one that is in the corner? This I probably be about 5 or 6ft. I think if anybody wants it, I'll do it. Okay. There is still glass left. Like, I made three windows, three 15ft windows out of the five windows that, were originally because a lot of glass was broken. You know, so that's, that's what I had to work with. And there's still some left of, the original glass. Somebody wants something new with it, you know. Yeah. I'll definitely do it. But I don't really have any plans. Okay. Now the windows you have restored, we'll see life again in Medicine Hat. They will. Saint Teresa's, they're going into the new, Holy, Holy Trinity Church, Holy Trinity School that is being built in Crescent Heights. Yes. Which is fitting because it's about a block and a half away from where they used to. Exactly. Yeah. So everything comes full circle through you and the face the same way. Yeah, yeah. So, probably next year, 20, 27, 27 I'm really excited to, you know, to see them when standing together, when, I mean, I had, I could stand one up at a time in my studio. And it was pretty cool. But to see three of them together, it's going to be and be something. Okay, you also have an exhibition in the Esplanade right now Between Today and Yesterday. It runs until April 4th. All right. What will people see there? Well, they'll see one of the windows from Saint Teresa's. It's not restored. They'll see in, one of the other showcases. I do sculpture in glass. Okay. So that'll be in one of the showcases. And then in another one, I made a window, just for the. For the show. And it's it's, painted. And I used a lot of old wooden frames to set the glass in. And there's also, a window that was scraps from a job I did at, Saint Peter's Lutheran in Medicine Hat - Medicine Hat. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Oh, fascinating. Those are the four four showcases. Do you blow the glass yourself? No. You have never tried that. I have tried it. I would love to do it, but it's so expensive to do it. You know, to get the equipment and stuff like that, that, wisely, I just said no. Okay. Are you familiar with the history of glass in Medicine Hat? That, we used to have a place where they they made blown glass. I've been told that. Yes. Alta glass. Yes. And some of that work is still prized by collectors. They have some down at the Esplanade don't they? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It, it was, one of the places that people went to see as tourists when they came through Medicine Hat because it was quite, quite amazing to watch them with their long rods in the fire and turning it and blowing it down. And, it was, it was really was a sight to see. And sadly, again, something else we've lost through the history of our city. But tell me about the name of your exhibit, the Today and Between Today and Yesterday. That came, I guess it's it's my work. I deal with a lot of stuff from yesterday, and, doing the new window that I did for the show, that was, between today and everything else is in between. Okay. And it just sort of like a caption of your life. Your life work. Exactly. Yeah. Now, people that are listening to this are watching and thinking, I wonder if he could do something for me. How did they get Ahold of you? They could phone me. Okay. Do you want to give you a phone number? I was sure, just put it up on the screen for them. It's (250) 383-4197. Okay. And you also have, a Facebook page. Yes. And that's just Wiseman Glassworks with, two esses and two enns. Correct. All right. Robert Weissmann I am very thankful that you came in for the visit. Thank you. I enjoyed.