AdammsGallery

Stained Glass Repair & Restoration

    

After being in the stained glass business for over 40 years it is inevitable that we would be asked to repair and or restore windows that we have produced. More and more this is becoming the case wether it is because of carelessness on the homeowners part, children, uncontrollable parties, or burglaries.

     A few months ago we were asked to restore a beautiful stained glass window we had made over 30 years ago.  The people had moved from their previous home and built a new home in Malibu, California. They decided to hang the window outside  on their dining patio. Unfortuately the location they hung the window was extremely windy and in this case there were gusts up to 70 MPH. The window blew out of the window frame and folded down to the deck. In all there were over 200 broken pieces, with no damage to the frame other than a strip of molding and  repainting.

     Since the window was not particularly old we were able to obtain all the same type of glass used in the original.  This window was a copper foiled window(Tiffany techinique) approximately six feet wide and seven feet tall. It had always been one of my favorite designs(we have duplicated it in one form or another, for various clients, at least six times).

     The window was in eight major sections when I brought it back to the shop. We first layed it out on the work table. Next we assessed what glass we needeed and how many broken pieces we needed to replace.  All of this information used to determine the cost of the restoration. The price was forwarded on to the insurance company and they agreed to the full amount.

     The next step was to remove all the broken pieces and reposition the window to fit the pattern of the frame(window sash). As you may imagine this was very labor intensive.  Next we had to clean all the pieces that we had to refoil and foil them.  With the window now layed out in the exact position to assemble we began cutting the replacement glass. After the glass was cur and fit we copper foiled each piece.  Next we soldered the pieces together. We generally use 50/50 solder and did so on this project. Finally we replaced the border lead on the window, and used a copper patina on the solder(this was mixed with a black patina to aqge the copper finish).

We refinished the frame and installed the window. As a safety measure we added a 1/4 acrylic panel to the windward side(outward facing) of the window. Finally we returned the finished restored window the the home and hung it back in it's patio location.  The clients were very happy.

Stained Glass Restoration Pullman Railway Car

This project was a special treat. It involved the restoration of two stained glass quadrafoil windows in a Pullman railway car. The car itself was produced by The Pullman Palace Car Company in 1927. There are 4 quadruple stained glass windows. Two are adjacent to bathroom showers, the other two are in one of the salons. For this project we restored the two by the showers, as these were often abused during entry or exit from the showers. The windows appear to be at least 100 years old, and of European origin. They were pushed in and had numerous cracked pieces. For this project we flattened the panels, repaired or replaced the pieces( A few of which required repainting), resoldered the reinforcing bars, and re puttied them.

The car is being refinished at this time. All the woodwork is being cleaned and finished, electrical updated, undercarriage strengthened, etc. It is really a demanding project, and all the craftsmen are superb. The current owner is John Paul Dejoria, the owner of Paul Mitchell Hair Products, and Patron Tequila. It is interesting to see all the private rail cars behind Union Station in Los Angeles. It is a charming thought to visualize these cars, now fully restored, touring the country. When the owner wishes to take a trip they have Amtrak hook it up to one of their trains and off they go. Rail has always been an interesting way to travel.You can have a closeup look at the countryside, and stop and get off where you like. It is a very romantic get away.

Stained Glass Restoration-Grace Church of Orange

 

BEFORE , Note buckling, and twisted zinc came divider

Early September 2011 we(Adamm's Stained Glass, Santa Monica, CA.) completed the restoration of the stained glass entry for Grace Church of Orange, Orange, California. We removed the entry stained glass, boarded up the openings, and brought them to our studio.

Once we had them in the studio we disassembled them removing all the leading and then cleaned the glass.The lead was a variety of 1/4", 1/2" and 5/8" wide. Many of the pieces were broken, so we either re-leaded in at the beaks or replaced the pieces completely. Matching the variety of colors was not a problem as the windows were just over 50 years old. Much of the glass we either had in stock or was easily available. We generally use Mad Dog Stained Glass(Van Nuys ,CA), or Hollander Glass(Stanton, CA) as our suppliers. However, if necessary we will use Bendheim, Kokomo Opalescent , Uroborus, or Bullseye Glass directly.

It is interesting to note that the side light panels did not have reinforcing bars. As a result the panels were creasing(bending) on the diagonal leading. When we re leaded we added reinforcing bars along the lead lines. The panels originally were installed using 3/4" zinc came as dividers. These cames did not hold up over the years and the panels were bowing and twisting from the weight.When we reinstalled the central panels we used 1" T bar for support between the panels. This relieves the pressure on the bottom panels and makes them much more sturdy. The windows cleaned up like gemstones. We were told that the congregation was greatly relieved to see the windows restored. Evidently they were very weary of walking under them with their condition being so dangerous. They were very pleased with the results, and we were very gratified .

AFTER

 

Adamm's Stained Glass Gallery Show "Firefox & Co."

We kicked off our Gallery show "Firefox & Co." on August 11th. We had a wonderful reception for the artists, Danielle Blade of Gartner and Blade Glass and Paul Allen Counts. Stephen Gartner, the other half of Gartner and Blade wasn't able to make the trip out from their home base of Ashley Falls, MA. The show was well attended, especially considering the economy, and our guests were delighted to see and hear Danielle and Paul talk about their inspirations, techniques, and history with glass. Danielle was born on The Isle of Wright, England. Here father is a glass blower as well as her two brothers. Danielle visited the United States in 1985 and decided to stay. She met Stephen Gartner while she was working as a glass blower in Arkansas. Shortly after they left to start their own studio. After a few years of blowing glass on their own in Arkansas they decided to move North to Ashley Falls. Their work is a collaboration. Danielle blows the forms and Stephen does all the sculptural work. They are constantly evolving and creating new forms and introducing new colors and patterns. Danielle had a large quantity of worked shipped out for the show.

Paul Allen Counts is a Southern California native. He began glass blowing at Palomar Junior College and received his Masters in Fine Arts-Glass at California State College Fullerton. He has worked and studied with the masters of the world including Venetian giants Lino Tagliapiertra, and Pino Signoretto.Paul is well known for his whimsical teapots, fish, and vases. One glance of his work will bring a smile to your face and joy to your heart. Paul resides in Southern California with his wife and children.

The show was a great success, although the turnout was less than expected. Actually these days we didn't really know how many to expect. Everyone one had a wonderful time discussing techniques with the artists and art glass in general with one another. Sales, while not the most important aspect of the show, were much higher than anticipated and set a record for all the shows.

With a great selection of these artist's work in the gallery we look forward to continuing interest.

California Preservation Foundation

 

On Sunday May 15th I set up a booth at the 36th California Preservation Foundation Conference. This year the conference was held at the Fairmont Hotel in Santa Monica.

For many years now we have been restoring and repairing stained and leaded glass as well as etched and beveled glass. He have developed quite a name for ourselves, and have directed our efforts more towards this area of stained glass work in recent years. Among the more notable projects we have worked on are :

The Doheny Mansion at Chester Place Campus

Mt St Mary's College, Los Angeles, CA

St Joseph Chapel at Santa Teresita, Duarte , CA

2nd Church of Christ Scientist, Los Angeles, CA

The Hollyhock House, Barnsdall Park, Los Angeles, CA

The Oviatt Building, Los Angeles, CA

Sinai Temple, West wood, CA

Korean Philadelphia Presbyterian Church, Los Angeles, CA

Kerkoff Hall, UCLA, Westwood, CA

Royce Hall, UCLA, Westwood, CA

Hershey Hall, UCLA, Westwood, CSA

Woodlawn Cemetery, Santa Monica, CA

New Bethel Baptist Church, Venice, CA

St.Albans Episcopal Church, Westwood, CA

Beit T’shuvah, Synagogue, Los Angeles, CA

Pilgrim Lutheran Church, Santa Monica, CA

Metropolitan Community Church, Los Angeles, CA

Westwood United Methodist Church, Westwood, CA

The Kabbalah.Center, Los Angeles, CA

Adat Shalom Synagogue, Los Angeles, CA

Motown Mansion, Bell Air, CA

George Washington Faulkner House, Santa Paula, CA.

In the beginning it was somewhat difficult getting restoration jobs. The feeling was. "You are not qualified if you haven't done anything notable".

This began changing once we established a record of notable projects. Before this however, it was a catch 22. Now people look at our track record and tell us that "you are the guys to use". The conference was very well attended in comparison with past conferences. There were in excess of 640 participants. Among the businesses that set up booths were architects, structural engineers, cultural historians, photographers, book sellers, contractors, and various state and federal preservation organizations.

For the first couple of days we were dissapoi9nted by the small number ofpeople that actually came into the display hall. By the end of the second day however, it became obvious that the businesses in the booths were exactly the people we had to network with. The result was, by the end of the confernces, we had a well established network. Most of us considered the show to be successful. The cloeing Gala was a lot of fun with a very nice banquet at the Annenberg Beach House on the beach in Santa Monica. The Beach House is located alongside the Marriane Davies Estate which was built by William Randolph Hearst.

Leaded Glass Restoration at UCLA's Hershey Hall

 

 

A few months ago I was contacted about a new project at UCLA. Hershey Hall, the first on campus dormitory Circa 1931, was under going extensive seismic retrofitting and all the leaded glass windows and doors needed to be removed and restored. Although we have been working on the stained and leaded glass at UCLA for nearly 20 years I was not familiar with Hershey Hall. In all there about 28 doors, transoms and windows that need restoration. Over the years the leaded glass had been repaired with plastic, and colored glass. While most of the windows are not in need of total re leading they do require  glass and lead replacement and reputtying. They are all in very heavy steel frames. A burden to transport, especially the eight foot doors.

I will be publishing additional blogs as we proceed. However, the following pictures show some of the process in replacing glass and lead to date.. 
  These images show breaking out the old broken glass, setting up the lead to accept the replacement glass, and cutting and installing the new glass.
The door pictured was made with clear window glass, but others have obscure glass we will be matching. 
 
 

 

 

  
 
  
 


 
 

American Craft Buyer's Shows

 

Randi Solin                                Wendy Linj                            CVhris and Alexandra Pantos      

I returned last weekend from trip to Philadelphia and Baltimore to attend this years buyer's markets. The first show "Buyer's Market of American Craft" was held at the Philadelphia Convention Center.  Among the 768 artists that set up booths were glass artists, jewelers, potters, wood workers, clothing and accessory  designers, iron artists,  candel makers, and mixed media artists. It is always fun visiting old friends and enjoying new work.  I was happy with the turn out, although the show is down from over 1200 artists.

The second show was the American Craft Council show in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore show had just over 700 artists. As is always the case the ACC show had a higher quality of work due to their more rigid standards for admission.  This is not to say that many of the artists in Philadelphia were not of equal talent.  In fact many artists do both shows, or choose to do one or the other and are easily accepted into both.  Here again I found some new artists for the gallery. In addition to ordering work(old standbys and new pieces) from my current artists, I was happy to find new artists both recognized and emerging that attended the show. Philly and Baltimore both have great restaurants, museums, antique shops, shows, and historic sites. I highly recommend both these sites, although not necessily in February.     Some of the new artrists I picked from both shows include Jennifer Duffy and Niev Duffy www.urbanlinksdesign.com  jewelry, Scott Maryjaszek www.artephax.com multi media photography, Sean Browen www.seanbrownartist.com jewelry, Chris and Alexandra Pantos www.tourchworksglass.com glass, Eric and Trudi Cooper www.seaofglassstudio.com jewelry, David Lindsay www.lindsayartglass.com glass, Paul Counts-glass,Wendy Lin www.wendylindesigns.com jewelry, Randi Solin  www.solinglass.comglass,  Margaret Neher www.margaretneher.comglass, Tamara Baskin www.tamarabaskin.com glass, and Art of Fire Glass for Christmas Ornaments. In looking for new work this year, more than  in years past, I looked for work that really blew my socks off.  I hope you will agree.  Most of these artists work will be arriving in the gallery in the next few months.  Of course there will be many new pieces from the over 190 artists I currently represent.

     Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter if you want to stay in touch with what going on  monthly.  Remember, all subscribers are entered into a contest to win  a Glass Eye Celestial Series  Paperweight given away each month.

     I'd also love to hear your feedback on the blog and nesletter.  Until next time  stay healthy.

Adamm Gritlefeld

Adamm's Stained Glass & Gallery

1426 4th St.

Santa Monica, Ca. 90401

310 451 9390

www.adammsgqallery.com

Stained Glass Repair of Hector Guimard Stained Glass Doors

Over the past 20 plus years Dr. Zack Hadad has given me some very interesting and historic restoration jobs. Dr.Hadad is an expert on the art deco, art nouveau periods as well as African culture and art. Zack has been an avid collector for decades, and is a professor of African Art at UCLA.  Recently Zack contacted me about restoring a stained glass door from the Castel Baranger. The Castel  was an apartment building designed by renowned  art nouveau archetect Hector Guimard(1864-1942). Built in 1894-98) the building at 14 Rue La Fontaine-Paris, France was comprised of 36 separate apartments.  Each one totally different from the next. Zack had stayed there many time before it was demolished for new construction.

   The doors had been repaired a number of times in the past. 

 We replaced the broken pieces with replica (restoration clear) glass and some textured glass pieces with Bullseye clear.  An extremely good match.
  

 

 

Guimard made extensive use of iron metal work during his career, and Castel Balanger was no exception. his flowing lines were executed in stone and wood as well. For information and great photos of Guimard's work I recommend "Hector Guimard Arch' d' Art Paris" A wonderful book containing  many photos of Guimards work.  It is written entirely in French however. A handicap for me, as my French is extraordinarily limited.

 

Among Guimard's most notable pieces is the Metropolitain. The subway entrances in Paris. The metal work in incomparable!

For more information google Hector Guimard. You will probably spend many hours in fascination.

Stained Glass Restoration at the 2nd Church of Christ, Scientist Los Angeles

 

 

 

 

  

   
 
 
 

Adamm's Stained Glass, Santa Monica continues work on the Christian Science Church at 946 West Adams in Los Angeles.  This area, close to the University of Southern California, is known as the West Adams Historical District. Currently we are continuing to work removing , releading, and installing the windows on the rotunda of the Church.  These windows are 104 feet above the ground level.  Fortunately we are using a lift to gain access to the roof and the windows.  For safety we have two sets of cables that surround the rotunda. Wearing climbing harnesses for safety, we are able to attach our lifelines to the cables during the removal and installation process.

     The 100 year old windows, that measure 44' x 84" ' acually come apart in pieces.  This is certainly not uncommon in such old windows.  The fact that these windows have been exposed directly to the elements for 100 years ceretainly explains their condition. With the window apart in pieces we load the pieces into  special crates and then lower them to the ground on the lift.  The lead is recycled.

     The restored windows are loaded into a crate that is tied to the lift and raised up to the rooftop.  Once there we are able to remove the completed window and install it in the opening.

     The windows weight 72 pounds.  The crate weighs  about 135 pounds.  With the maximum weight for the lift of 400 pounds you can understand why the lift is remotly operated to raise and lower the windows.

     We have been removing and installing the windows four at a time.  The complete rotunda has 32 windows, although half had been releaded previously.

   This is an interesting job, and the view from the roof top is magnificent.

Stained Glass Restoration, 2nd Church of Christ, Scientist Los Angeles

 
We bid on this project  about nine months ago when The Art of Living foundation was thinking of buying the 21,000+ square foot building.There is extensive stained glass throughout the building. The entry and all four stairwells have stained glass windows and skylights.  The sanctuary has nine very large windows with transoms.  The there are the classrooms, bathrooms, offices, and huge meeting hall. To top it off the 104 foot high dome is topped with a 32 window rotunda with each window being approximate 4 feet by 8 feet.

The Church is located in the historic West Adams area of Los Angeles. It was completed exactly 100 years ago this year, and is surrounded by numerous 100 year old large homes and mansions. Most of these either have been or are in the process of being restored to their former magnificence. Just down the street on Chester Place is the Doheny Mansion which we finished restoring just last year. Located in an area that has been notorious for vandalism the church's stained glass windows have not stood up well under a bombardment of wine and beer bottles.

We started restoring the windows in the North stairwells.  Fortunately, we were able to get a very good match on the glass from both Bullseye Glass Company in Portland,Oregon, and Kokomo Opalescant Glass Company in Kokomo , Indiana. We removed the windows by passing them through the opening and carrying them out on a piece of plywood.  The installation of the restored windows were done the same way.  We did use a bucket lift to place our men on the ledge of the window and back them up for safety. The ledge is quite deep.

You can see from the photos how badly the windows were damages.The other window was missing most of the bottom quarter. Surprisingly, the lead for most of the window was in good shape.We did not have to relead except in some areas where wine bottles had torn the leading away. The window frames and sash were also in pretty good shape and will need little restoration other than stripping and painting.  We primed and painted the detail area of the sash and the moulding.

  The next project was the repair of broken and missing pieces in the sanctuary.  I will cover this in another blog.