By Ken de la Bastide
Lisa Petty has worked 30 years at a job she considers more fun than toil – creating and restoring stained glass artwork.
Petty started working in high school for Studio Stain Glass, owned by Peggy Ragland Hobson. After working for Hobson for five years, Petty started her own business: Lisa’s Custom Stained Glass.
“I’m preserving someone else’s work,” Petty said. “Once one of these windows is lost, it is lost forever.”
Along with her husband, Gene, Petty restored three stained glass windows for Sharpsville Methodist Church. The work started in September and now is complete – in plenty of time for the church’s Christmas service.
Petty replaces broken pieces of stained glass with glass she obtains from Kokomo Opalescent Glass.
Sharpsville Methodist’s stained glass windows were created in 1908. Over the course of a century, heat had caused the windows to sag in the middle as the grout fell out.
To replace a broken piece of glass, Gene said that sometimes the removal of the surrounding glass is required.
Once that is completed, each piece of glass is individually soldered into place with soft lead. Grout is then installed and the glass is polished.
“It’s very labor-intensive,” Gene said. “Everything is hands on.”
He said the process starts by determining how brittle the window is before it is removed and transported to the Kokomo work area.
One of the windows for the Sharpsville church had 50 pieces of broken glass that had to be replaced, he said.
The couple worked on windows in a church north of Peru that was vacant for 20 years. It took two years to repair the stained glass windows.
Lisa’s artwork is on view at the Kokomo Rescue Mission and Bethel Tabernacle Church of God in Kokomo, just to name a few churches that have used the Pettys’ restoration and creation skills.
The couple restored 72 stained glass windows at Galveston First Baptist Church, a project Gene described as the most difficult windows they have restored.
Like any business, there are times of feast and famine, Lisa said. It can be a full-time job, she added.
In addition to restoring stained glass windows, Lisa designs and creates her own artwork for stained glass lampshades, windows, signs and custom-made cabinet doors and sun catchers.
She has created windows for Pastariffic and Martino’s in Kokomo.
Lisa works with the customer on the design and how it will fit into the decor of a home or business. She hand-draws or uses a computer program to create the design.
The cost depends on the size and the amount of glass pieces that are used. A 24-inch by 24-inch window can cost $450.
Every piece of artwork Lisa creates is an original. She won’t copy another designer’s work.
The company’s Web site is www.lisascustomstainedglass.com
