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PORTLAND 2015:The 106th Annual Summer Conference

of the Stained Glass Association of Americaby Richard H. Gross

Above: Portland’s Savoy Studio welcomed Conference attendees into their studio as apart of the annual tour.

Opposite Page: Students in the Stained Glass Photography pre-Conference class visit-ed Grace Memorial Episcopal Church in Portland for fieldwork following the morningclass.

The 106th Annual SummerConference of the Stained GlassAssociation of America was held inPortland, Oregon, this year and was themost heavily attended Conference sincethe SGAA’s 100th AnniversaryConference in Columbus, Ohio, in 2003.

The Conference was preceded bytwo days of pre-Conference classes andworkshops held at the Conference hotel,at Uroboros Glass, and at SchnepfStudios in Portland. Classes included anIntroduction to Fusing, Fusing andAirbrush Painting, Intro to Glass Eye2000 software, Introduction to FritPainting, Creating Past the WindowFrame, and Stained Glass Photography.

The popular Conference Suppliers’Showcase returned this year and wassponsored by Imagilux, a maker of LEDpanels for backlighting stained glass thatalso provided a LED light panel that wasused to photograph the entries in thisyear’s exhibition. (See pages 34 – 41.)

Carmen Reynolds spoke onWednesday on the capacity of glass, andWalter Gordinier, whose studio was astop on the annual tour, spoke about con-ceptual design. Rich Lamothe presented avery interesting segment on large-scalelamination.

On Wednesday afternoon, there wasa painting and fusing panel followed byopen discussion, and Jon Rarick of

Reusche and Company gave a veryinformative technical presentation onpaints for stained glass.

On Wednesday evening, WissmachGlass sponsored the Welcome Reception,which was followed by the Welcome

Banquet, which was sponsored by localhost Uroboros Glass. Eric Lovell ofUroboros spoke at the banquet on the his-tory of Uroboros.

On Tuesday morning, DavidSchlicker gave a very informative presen-

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This Page: Those onthe annual tour wereable to witness adiverse range oftechniques beingused at Savoy Studio.

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Conference text continues on Page 42.

This Page: Uroboros Glass invitedConference attendees to the factory forlunch and a tour of their productionfacility.

tation on the history of the PoveyBrothers Studio. SGAA Past PresidentPaul Pickel gave a very informative talkon business practices and how differentstudios handle various tasks involved inrunning a studio.

Dan Legree spoke about SavoyStudios and some of their large-scaleinstallations and cutting-edge technolo-gies used at the studio.

Following a membership brunch thatwas sponsored by Imagilux, there was atwo-part presentation on restoration. Partone, by Scott Stratton, focused on restora-tion-glazing techniques while part two,presented by Ralph Mills, focused onedge-gluing techniques in stained glassconservation.

The Awards Banquet and Receptionwere held on Thursday night this year andwere sponsored by S.A. Bendheim.Among the awards presented this yearwas the very prestigious LifetimeAchievement Award, which was given toPaul Pickel and the Excellence inEducation Award, which was given toRobert Markert. There was also a lengthypresentation by Narcissus Quagliata onhis work in the field.

The official Conference activitiesconcluded on Friday with the annual tour.The first stop on the tour was at SavoyStudios, where Conference attendeeswere able to see different projects cur-rently in the works at this state-of-the-artstudio.

After visiting Savoy Studio, the tourstopped at Uroboros Glass for lunch, atour of the factory, and a chance to shopin Uroboros newly opened retail space.

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PORTLAND 2015Stained Glass Exhibition

The Portland 2015 Annual SummerConference featured a stained glass exhibition enti-tled “Infinite Horizons,” which was sponsored byUroboros Glass. Pieces entered had to feature thetheme of Uroboros, an alchemist’s term often rep-resented by a dragon or serpent devouring its owntail. The ancient symbol represents an endless cycleof renewal or life everlasting. Uroboros Glass saysthat for them, “the name honors the traditions andlore of medieval alchemists as they struggled toturn lead into precious gold.”

▲ Serpentine, by Diane Eissinger,Diane Eissinger Stained Glass,Bellville, MI. Three-dimensional piece.

◄ Frieda’s Dilema, by Yvonne Buijs-Mancuso, San Juan Glassworks, FridayHarbor, WA. Neckpiece.

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▲ Science or Magic, by Judy Killian,Local Color Art Studio, Fairifeld, ID.Exhibition piece. First place.

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Opposite Page, Top: Alchemy, bySylvia Laks, Sylvia Laks ArtStudio, San Rafael, Costa Rica.Third Place.

Opposite Page, Bottom: SunnyUroboros, by Scott McDaniel,Stained Glass Resources, Inc.,Hampden, MA. Autonomouspanel.

▲ Beyond the Stars, byJosaphine A. Geiger, St. Paul,MN. Autonomous panel.

◄ Uroboros, by Kelley Mooers,Seattle, WA. Autonomous panel.

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Opposite Page, Top: Atomic Alchemy,by Amy Valuck. Amy Valuck Glass Art,Media, PA. Autonomous panel.

Opposite Page, Bottom: UroborosInfinity, by Emily Gall, Bloomington,IN. Autonomous panel.

▲ Never Ending Struggle, by MeganMcElfresh Augspurger, McElfGlassWorks, Buffalo, NY. Exhibitionpiece.

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◄ I Dream of Colored Windows, by EllenMandelbaum, Ellen Mandelbaum Glass Art,Sunnyside, NY. Mixed media.

▲ Blackhole Sun, by The SiteCrew, Stained Glass Resources,Inc., Hampden, MA. ExhibitionPiece.

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▲ For Ever & Ever & Ever, by SusanShea, Stained Glass Resources, Inc.,Hampden, MA. Autonomous panel.Second Place.

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Above: Susan Shea (left) and Kathy Barnard. Shea completedher term as President of the Stained Glass Association ofAmerica at the Portland Conference; Barnard is the newlyelected president.

Top Left: Bullseye Glass Company welcomed Conferenceattendees to their production facility for a tour.

Left: Stained Glass School President Jack Whitworth served asauctioneer at an event to raise funds for the school.

From there, the tour visited the Walter Gordinier Studiowhere Gordinier presented some of the techniques he uses in fus-ing and casting.

The last stop was at Bullseye Glass for a tour of their pro-duction facility and a chance to shop and enjoy some refresh-ments afterward.

A post-Conference excursion to Washington Park wasoffered on Saturday. The tour included visits to the JapaneseGardens and the Rose Test Gardens at the park.

This year’s Conference was widely praised by attendees asbeing successful and offering the right balance of lectures, hands-on opportunities, and fun. Next year’s Annual SummerConference will be held in Chicago, Illinois, on July 6 – 8, 2016.For more information, watch future editions of this magazine andwww.stainedglass.org.

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Above: The newly elected board of theStained Glass Association of America is(back row, from left to right) AndyYoung, Bill Klopsch, Cindy Whitworth,Kathy Barnard, Christi Nordmeyer, SueShea, Al Priest, Andrea Reed, (frontrow, left to right) David Judson, JackWhitworth, Bryant Stanton, EmilyCarlson, and Jim Piercey.

Right: (Left to right) Yasuko Yui, MieKawamoto, Yoshie Kawamoto andAkihiko Kawamoto of Studio Kawamotowere on hand as the studio was wel-comed into the SGAA as the firstAccredited Professional Studio outsideof the United States. Far right is AlPriest, chairman of the SGAAMembership Committee.