Bellevue church creating its own stained-glass art

Ethel Brende held out her finger to be bandaged. She sliced it last week trimming a piece of cobalt-blue glass. Cuts, she said, have become routine.

Nearly 50 members of St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Bellevue have been proudly wearing bandages in recent weeks. The nicks and cuts are badges of participation in an unusual church project combining volunteers and an artist in residence to create stained-glass windows. Twenty-eight panels will be combined to fill four 16-foot-tall windows in the bell tower of the church sanctuary.

When completed, the windows will form a dramatic corner mural — two windows on each side — facing Bellevue Way Northeast.

Guided by artist-in-residence Joe Hester, volunteers have been working 12 hours a day for three weeks. There's a sense of urgency to the project. The windows will be dedicated Feb. 25.

Hester expects to make the deadline even though only four panels were finished last week. He's been through this about a dozen times, leading similar community stained-glass projects.

"I've learned what to expect," he said. "You get some cut fingers, some mistakes with the glass and some imperfections. It is like making a decent omelet. It all comes together in the end."

Using volunteers means a big cost savings to the church, but that's not the primary goal, said St. Luke's pastor, the Rev. Tom Kidd.

"It's more than the money we're saving," he said. "This place is exciting; it's a hub. We're building community here as we work on it."

The artwork, named "Witness Windows," is an abstract mix of light yellows, whites and peach colors in the center that give way to red surrounded by blue. At the top, four panels represent water, fire, air and earth.

Volunteers follow a hand-drawn guide, like a page from a coloring book, for each panel. And as with coloring inside the lines, the trick is to trim each piece of glass so it fits inside the dark lines on the pattern. While Hester oversees the color choices, volunteers develop their own style. He points out a more fluid panel in progress versus a more precise piece.

Hester assures everyone that the panels, when hung, will blend together. Some volunteers proceed confidently; others are timid. Karen Roed said she appreciated Hester's patience and tutelage.

"I thought I was just here to cut the glass and then my job was done," she said. "I was traumatized when I learned we had to put the windows together."

Hester stood on her left, showing her how to cut the lead that goes between the glass pieces. She matched the cut pieces to a paper pattern that lay underneath her frame. One piece of glass was too large, so she took it to a grinder to cut away the overlap. She then slipped it into a groove in the lead strip and, using a piece of wood, gently tapped the glass until it was firmly in place.

When each panel is completely pieced together inside a zinc frame, the volunteers solder the lead to make solid seams and seal the edges.

The entire project is expected to cost $15,000.

Hester has made numerous stained-glass windows for churches, including the rose window behind St. Luke's altar. Although both that window and the Witness Windows were designed by artist Larry Gross, Hester also does design. His specialty is religious-themed stained glass.

Jim Flanigan, owner of Fremont Antique Glass in Seattle, is supplying the glass for St. Luke's. (All the glass used is new. The "antique" refers to the method Flanigan uses to make the various colors of glass.)

"I walk in there and say I need some peach and some red and if he doesn't have it, he makes it for us," Hester said.

The windows of St. Luke's will be more than a dramatic piece of art for contemplation by churchgoers, Kidd said.

"The 20[,000] to 25,000 people who pass by our church each day will have the joy of seeing the windows," he said. "It is our gift to the community."

Sherry Grindeland: 206-515-5633 or sgrindeland@seattletimes.com