It was the late 70's. My parents were raising three kids on one side of a duplex in Weymouth, Massachusetts. My mom was a homemaker and my dad was a guitarist who had just gotten laid off from his full time day job. His rock n roll band gigs weren't pulling in enough income so things were a struggle.
The story went like this. My uncle was a fireman. A local hobby shop had unfortunately had a fire and many of the products were damaged. One evening my uncle stopped by, telling my parents that the owner of the hobby shop had given some of the damaged items to the fireman who had kids. He didn't want to throw them away, but they weren't in the best shape to salvage and resell. He handed my dad a set of "makit bakit kits" and said "I know you like to work with your hands and you have some free time, maybe you'd like to make these with your kids."
That was the beginning.
He did make that little kit with us that night. I think it was a butterfly design. Soon after that night my dad had gone on a little venture while us kids were at school. He found a local glass supply store. He bought all the tools and supplies necessary to create his first REAL design, in stained glass! It may have been a bumble bee. I do remember seeing birds and flowers too, and he was loving it. He even put together a work table for his basement glass shop.
He taught himself this art. Never took a class. In very little time, he sold his first piece to a local nature shop. And that was the beginning of a long and amazing career as a stained glass artist who created suncatchers, windows & lamps. My mom was a terrific sales person so she did most of the talking and sales pitching and they truly made a wonderful team.
My father taught me this art when I was about 18. Those days were magical for me. He was patient and so very talented with the craft. I immediately fell in love with the art of stained glass. We spent many hours a day in the workshop and I remember how cool it was to be cutting into sheets of glass and learning how to handle and control a 100 watt soldering iron. To me, it felt like home. It still does.
Sadly, my father passed away at a young age. I was sitting beside him the day he realized his illness was taking a hard toll on his body and that something had to give. He was so quiet and calm, (I swear the man never complained) and with the soldering iron in his hand and the design left unfinished on the table, he said to me, "It's not safe for me to do this anymore."
He put his soldering iron down for that last time that day............and I picked it up for him. Please enjoy all of the pieces I have done in his place. It still feels so very magical :)