February 13: The Art of Stained Glass

Mountain Empire residents from as far away as Lake Morena who braved the wintry weather on Friday night were well-rewarded with an intriguing glimpse into the Art of Stained Glass as presented by Pine Valley resident Keith Barrett, who has made between 60 and 70 windows. Keith also is experienced in glass sandblasting, photography, woodworking, enameling, copper tooling, leatherwork, and other hand arts.

Keith, who started creating stained glass windows in high school, introduced the audience to a Power Point presentation of his recent four-foot by five-foot Tiffany-inspired stained glass window of 1,532 pieces installed last September in the home of Dr. Don and Mrs. Marcia Adema's Descanso home, the unveiling of which was a wonderful MECAC event. Explaining his design influences from Tiffany's work and from photographs he snapped himself of our Mountain Empire area, Keith demonstrated the tools used in cutting and shaping glass pieces as well as the copper foil technique of soldering the pieces together. He also answered audience questions regarding the method with which he doubled pieces of glass to create both color and texture that allowed him, in his own words, "to paint with glass."

After the formal presentation ended, the audience gathered around the front table where Keith demonstrated the different colors and textures available in glass on a small light table while answering questions regarding where he purchases his glass locally. He also displayed the hand tools and cutting blades used in constructing stained glass windows as well as allowing attendees to thumb through his book of stained glass windows he has created over the years.

Keith also exhibited the current window he is working on, a whimsical carousel horse with a swirled and "bubbled" background that creates the illusion of movement. This window, begun eighteen years ago and stored while Keith had no dedicated space to work on his glass art, is now being completed with the copper foil technique and with the help of several power tools such as a band saw, jig saw, and wet belt sander that were not available when he started the window.

The artistic evening was complete with cookies, cider, and coffee as the audience chatted among themselves and the guest artist, exchanging business cards and networking. Our Guest Artist Evenings are a great deal of fun besides being informative as we discover the hidden and not-so-hidden talents of our Mountain Empire friends and neighbors. If you missed this gathering, keep checking this site and the calendar on the sidebar (plus the Valley Views and flyers in front of the post office and around town) so you won't miss our next artistic offering to the Mountain Empire community.