Have you ever been blinded by the light streaming into a window that was too high to cover? That was my initial incentive for the stained glass window at UUCT. My intent was to filter the light on the high window on the west side of the building, but as I got closer to completing the window, I realized that it would need to be a lot bigger for the targeted window and I didn’t have the means to create or transport a much larger window. The final window ended up being too intricate and would have been “lost” in a high space. I brought the window to a GLOW meeting and the Board for approval to put it in another location. At some point, the west windows will get another treatment.

My experience with stained glass started in college when I took a class for my Recreation Leadership major (about 40 years ago). This window was the first project I’ve done since then… In January 2024, I signed up for a beginner’s class at the Lafayette Arts Center and proceeded to relearn how to cut glass and use the tools. My first class sessions involved creating and tweaking the design to accommodate the glass, figuring out the color pallet, and numbering and color coding the pattern before cutting the pattern into pieces—all before even making the first glass cuts. Since the design was so large, I used six boards—Upper left, lower left, upper right, lower right, UUCT, and the chalice—in order to move my project around. I also ended up taking three 8-week classes…

Once all the sections were done, I set up a workstation in my living room to assemble the sections. This allowed me to spend more than the few hours I had during class in order to assemble, solder, and tweak the design. To make things easier, I soldered each section on both sides before attempting to piece them together. Now, putting a puzzle together is easy because you are working with a flat surface. Putting soldered sections together when the solder is not always even is a creative challenge… there were times when I fretted about getting the sections to fit… I’d pack the sections away for a few weeks and then bring everything out to try again. The final stages involved smoothing out the solder, cleaning edges, rethinking colors, cutting and wrapping more glass to accommodate changes… and then taping the sections together before doing the final soldering. Miraculously, my final measurements were good… whew! After adding the metal frame around the window, I was ready for the next step.

“Hello, Len…” The time and care that my good friend, Len Martin, put into creating the frame and figuring out how to hang the window is much appreciated. We met a few times at the church to take measurements and discuss options. The project moved in and out of his shop a few times as he celebrated the holidays and family events. The window was hung in the Sanctuary on January 21, 2025, the same week as a new administration started and as Tallahassee experienced its first major snow storm—The two of us shared a quiet celebratory time after a year of creative work on the window.

The overall design reflects the current logo of the church. On the base of the chalice are 8 blue glass discs, which represent the 8 UU principles. Each corner of the window has 8 glass discs as well. Some of the green glass in the leaf or the corners of the window were from the glass projects I worked on in college, so there is a piece of my history in the window, too. The window is my labor or love and a gift of self that I hope brings some joy to the UUCT community.