Stained glass

Lisa Fox <lisa.fox [at] sos__mo__gov> writes

>I am posing this query in my personal rather than professional
>capacity.  My parish has allocated money for a significant project
>to restore our stained-glass windows.  We have discovered that some
>of the lead is deteriorating, and the wood around some of the
>windows is rotting. We also plan to replace the deteriorating,
>yellowed Lexan (?) with a newer protective covering.
>
>We are marooned here in the Midwest, where conservators aren't
>exactly plentiful.  So far, we have identified only one
>stained-glass studio that might do the work: Bovard Studios.
>
>I would appreciate knowing whether any of you are familiar with that
>studio and can comment on their conservation qualifications.  I
>would also invite any of you who have expertise in this field--or
>who know of other qualified conservators who work in Missouri--to
>contact me offline.  I would like to have more bids on this job.

I just visited Bovard studio last week as an independent "quality
control" stained glass consultant for a large job they are doing in
Pasadena, CA. I am an AIC PA stained glass conservator and
consultant. I was brought in on the project after they had been
hired, but they have been very receptive to my questions and
suggestions for treatment. As far as I know, they don't have a
conservator on staff. They do have a sizable archive of restoration
work. I would suggest asking them to provide you with previous
examples of treatments similar to those they are suggesting for your
church's windows (e.g. color matching repairs, glass painting
styles, stability of windows), and then contacting those past
clients about their experience.

On-site (in Iowa) I was impressed with their documentation system,
and their attention to detail. The work I am overseeing does not
involve painted glass, so I can't speak specifically to their
treatment thereof. They also have a ventilation/protective glazing
system that I saw briefly; which I assume they will suggest using
instead of Lexan. Again, I haven't seen it in practice, or heard of
any long-term effects of this system, so I can't comment on it's
quality, though it looked interesting.

Ariana Makau
Owner and Principle Conservator
AIC Professional Associate
Nzilani Glass Conservation LLC
3246 Ettie Street, Studio #4
Oakland, CA 94608
510-821-2742
Fax: 510-655-2742


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 21:13
                   Distributed: Friday, June 29, 2007
                       Message Id: cdl-21-13-009
                                  ***