FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: Different Kinds of Stained Glass Work and Different Types of Designs

Q.  What kinds of stained glass work does Ancient Arts stained glass studio create?

A.   Some of our most important stained glass work is for churches.  We have created many new stained glass windows for about 30 church clients.  Many of these are Catholic churches but others are Baptist, Brethren, Samoan Congregational, United Methodist, Lutheran, African Methodist Episcopal (AME), and other Protestant churches.

Q.  Has Ancient Arts also done stained glass window repair and restoration for churches?

A.  Yes.  Ancient Arts stained glass studio has done stained glass restoration work and stained glass repair work for about 60 church clients.  Again, many of these are Catholic churches but others are Episcopalian, United Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, Armenian, Church of Christ, Seventh Day Adventist and other Protestant churches.

Q.  What about stained glass windows for other related institutions?

A.  We have created and restored and repaired windows for schools, hospitals, convents, cemeteries and funeral chapels. We have worked with many of our cemetery clients over a long period of time.

Q.  Are the churches where you have created, restored or repaired stained glass work located only in Southern California?

A.  Most of this stained glass work has been in Southern California, including Los Angeles County, Orange County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, San Diego County and Ventura County. However, some of our stained glass projects have taken us much farther afield.

Q.  Where has Ancient Arts done church stained glass projects outside of Southern California?

A.  Ancient Arts did a lot of stained glass work in 1998 in Fresno, California – a new stained glass window and the restoration of a rose window at St. John Cathedral.  That same year we did an important stained glass consultation at St. Malachy in Tehachapi, CA. Starting in 1994, we did a series of stained glass windows for mausoleums on the East Coast.  In 1994 we created new stained glass windows for Mt. Lebanon Cemetery in Queens, New York and in 1995, 1997, and 2000 we created new stained glass windows in Garden of Memories mausoleum in Paramus, New Jersey.

Q.  Has Ancient Arts ever gone outside the continental United States for a stained glass window project?

A.  We have been to American Samoa three times to install new stained glass windows created by Ancient Arts Stained Glass Studio.  What a wonderful opportunity that was to experience the charms of the South Pacific.  I’ll never forget my first sight of the moonlight on the ocean harbor at Pago Pago.

Q.  What kind of stained glass designs has Ancient Arts used in stained glass church work?

A.  Church stained glass designs by Ancient Arts have ranged from very traditional to contemporary.

Q.  What is traditional stained glass design for churches?

A.  In traditional stained glass design for churches every piece of glass is painted and fired.  This process gives subtle tone and color gradation to the artwork and carefully modulates the level of light transmission. Most traditional stained glass designs show a figure or figures or a scene from the Bible.  Architectural detail is often used to frame the figure or scene  as in a Renaissance painting.

Q.  What is contemporary stained glass design for churches?

A.  Sometimes, in contemporary stained glass design for churches by Ancient Arts, a central medallion or focus area will depict a scene or a religious symbol that is painted and fired.  The background of such a stained glass window may consist of a decorative design, elaborate and intricate or as simple as a grid, consisting of different colors of stained glass. Other contemporary stained glass designs for churches may have no painting at all, or may employ stained glass painting only for faces and other flesh pieces.  The garments in such a case may be made from unpainted opalescent glass as was done by Louis Comfort Tiffany. Some contemporary designs of stained glass work for churches may be abstract or stylized like a painting by Picasso. The bright unmodulated colors or even clear textured glasses can give a partial view of outside vegetation and passing clouds which can have a wonderful ability to enhance the stained glass window.

Q.  What other kinds of stained glass work does Ancient Arts stained glass studio create?

A.  Ancient Arts stained glass studio has created thousands of windows, cabinet door inserts, partition panels and skylights for residences, using stained glass, leaded glass and beveled glass.

Q.  What are some of the design styles used in the residential stained, leaded and beveled glass work at Ancient Arts stained glass studio?

A.  Many clients love decorative panels that have a central focus of a beveled glass design, a textured glass background and a beveled glass border.  These designs are also often used in leaded and beveled glass cabinet door inserts.  These designs are sometimes called Victorian. Geometric, Craftsman style stained glass designs are also perennial favorites. A smaller group of residential clients likes to work with more contemporary design styles that may have an Art Deco quality or be reminiscent of the leaded glass work of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Q.  What are some other stained glass design styles that Ancient Arts uses with residential clients?

A.  Nature in all its glory and variety has always provided the inspiration for an abundant variety of residential stained glass windows.  Intricate designs using opalescent glass may echo the magnificent Tiffany stained glass windows of a hundred years ago.  Flowers and birds, butterflies and grapevines are very popular, sometimes isolated and stylized and sometimes included in a more elaborate stained glass landscape window scene. Close to the Pacific Ocean, Ancient Arts has often been commissioned to create stained glass windows featuring fish, shells, boats, islands, lighthouses and other kinds of seascapes.

Q.  Has Ancient Arts stained glass studio done stained glass windows for commercial use?

A.  We have done many commercial projects for local restaurants and offices – doctors, dentists, lawyers and other offices of all kinds.

Q.  What are some of the local restaurants where you can see stained glass windows by Ancient Arts?

A.  In Rancho Palos Verdes, stained glass windows by Ancient Arts can be seen at the Admiral Risty.  In San Pedro, our stained glass work can be seen at San Pedro Brewing Company, The Lighthouse Deli, The Whale & Ale and Marcello’s.  Some are no longer with us, but fondly remembered – Porkchop Brown’s in Manhattan Beach, Diorio’s in San Pedro and Donatello’s in Brentwood and others.

Q.  What commercial stained glass window project stands out the most?

A.  In 1995, Ancient Arts was commissioned to create a 25-foot high stained glass window for a new parking structure at Disney Studios in Burbank. It was a thrill to work with the legendary designers of Walt Disney Imagineering to ensure that authentic stained glass was part of the Disney Studios environment – Daisy, Goofy, Donald and Pluto.

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