IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

RESTORATION OF STAINED GLASS
June 25, 2012

Ancient Arts Stained Glass (http://www.ancientartsstainedglass.com) was recently called for stained glass restoration at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church (http://ihmcsocal.org) on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles in an area known as East Hollywood.

The cost of the restoration was covered by the Insurance Department of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles (http://www.la-archdiocese.org), when it was determined that the damage could have been related to a serious rainstorm that was accompanied by high winds and flying debris.

The window in question was located in the choir loft. There were four pieces that needed repair, but one central piece was much more challenging than the others. The remnant of this broken piece showed a fragment of the Sacred Heart and a fragment of an arrow piercing the Heart. The inscription "St. Augustine" was intact. Further research by Ancient Arts Stained Glass showed that the Sacred Heart symbol associated with St. Augustine often includes a flame at the top of the Heart. However, there were no surviving remnants of the flame.

Using the surviving fragment of the Heart and the arrow we were able to create a preliminary drawing by continuing the curve of the heart. Once the the Heart was drawn, it was clear that there was extra room at the top of the space allotted for this piece. The Heart was weighted toward the bottom of the space. Once the flame was drawn, the piece appeared artistically balanced and it conformed much more closely to the typical iconography for St. Augustine (http://www.thefirstparish.org).

Once the artistic detective work was concluded to the church's satisfaction, we could carry out the task of selecting closely matching glass and then painting and firing to come as close as possible to the original.

The church reported that they were very happy with the thoughtfulness and accuracy of this restoration. They called us later in the year for another restoration to a panel in the main sanctuary.

We also offer our congratulations to Immaculate Heart of Mary Church on the occasion of their 100th anniversary earlier this year.

The Sacred Heart had to be created using these remaining fragments for guidance (left). The Sacred Heart symbol of St. Augustine often includes a flame.