STAINED GLASS

        We are giving this piece of stained glass as a Christmas gift this year:

13 3/4"    x   19 3/4"

It came not from a commercial establishment but from our 'treasure chest' that we have chosen to share.  Long ago, it was a part of a large window in the old Presbyterian Church in a town 'down east'.
That structure had not been home to the congregation for many years and had suffered fire damage in the late 1960's and the large windows were doomed to the dump.  Fast forward unto the early 2000's when I met local artisan, Sam Zinaich, who began designing and restoring stained glass over 30 years ago.  Sam refurbished and framed the panel and it hung in the window of one of my offices for six years.  When I resumed having but one office, we stored this one.  Its 'sibling' hangs in a window of our house:

As an aside (which he will not know about until he reads this),

what began as a hobby for Sam has developed into a post-retirement business.  He was among the first artists in the "Arts Incubator" project in our hometown.  See his website "Stained Glass by Sam".  At 83, Sam does not allow his "chronological giftedness" to define his  artistic imagination and creativity.  Over the years, he has repaired and refurbished stained glass windows in several churches. My photography skills do not adequately capture the beauty of these creations in his shop:

Since Medieval times stained glass windows have adorned numerous cathedrals and churches in Europe.  The craftsmanship has a long history (see Wikipedia).  American churches early continued the practice of enhancing their worship spaces with pictures depicting Biblical persons and scenes.  The sanctuary of the small Methodist (pre-United Methodist) church of my youth had two super-sized windows.  One of the  churches that I served as Minister in the 1990's has these beautiful windows:

And a small Episcopal parish in the Western part of our state has its entire sanctuary enhanced with Tiffany windows, such as this one:

Over the years, we have added several pieces of stained glass to the decor of our house; so much so that I have occasionally quipped that we have as many panels as some small churches.  In addition to the frame above, here are some of the others:

In one of the Bedrooms

Over the kitchen sink

In my "next life", I want to be a stained-glass artist.

Satchel