This year’s Stained Glass Association of America AnnualSummer Conference introduced an innovative new format that putStained Glass School classes in morning sessions running on thesame days as Conference events in the afternoons and evening.This format allowed Conference attendees to take classes andattend all of the Conference without adding extra hotel nights.

Classes offered this year included Concept to Cartoon, withDiane Eissinger; Advanced Enamels, with Jim Berberich;Restoration Painting, with Nick Parrendo; Introduction toPainting, with Jerome Durr and Laura Parham; Laminating, withBohle America; and Adobe Photoshop, with Bryant Stanton.

The 106th Annual Summer Conference of the Stained GlassAssociation of America presented a diverse offering of programs.The popular Sponsor’s Showcase was back this year, offering amini trade show to Conference attendees. From creative market-ing strategies to committee psychology, and from figure drawingto “You Call ThatRestoration?” therewere numerousexcellent and educa-tional opportunitiesfor Conference atten-dees.

The Stained Glass Quarterly28

(Opposite Page) The CreationWindow, 1957, designed by RobertFrei. This Emil Frei Stained Glass

Studio window at Wyatt Park ChristianChurch, St. Joseph, Missouri, was a

highlight of the tour.

THE ARTISTS’ RETREATAt the Elms • The 105th Annual Summer Conference

of the Stained Glass Association of Americaby Richard Gross

The newly elected board of directors and officers of the Stained Glass Association of America includes (left to right, back row)President Sue Shea, First Vice President Kathy Barnard, Recording Secretary Jennifer Banbury, Director Christie Wood, SecondVice President David Judson, (first row, left to right) Director Jack Whitworth, Director Bob Jones, Financial Secretary Al Priest,

Treasurer Bill Klopsch, Director Kristine Nordmyer, and Director Jerome Durr.

The Stained Glass Quarterly30

The G. Owen Bonawit memorial panel from Stained Glass Resources took first place in the Painted category.

Autumn, by Melissa Janda, won third place in the Painted category.

The Stained Glass Quarterly 31

This panel, Rondel ala Klimt, by Diane Eissinger took first place in the Unpainted category.

This and opposite page: a selection ofentries for this year’s stained glass panelcompetition. A number of people remarkedthat the overall quality of work presentedthis year was very high.

Copper Willow, by Josephine Giger, won second place in the Unpainted category.

Untitled, by Scott McDaniel, won thirdplace in the Unpainted category.

The Stained Glass Quarterly32

Artists at workat one of the lifedrawing sessions

offered at the Artists’Retreat. Standing atthe easel is ScottMcDaniel fromStained Glass

Resources; seatedleft is Andy Young of

Pearl River ArtGlass, and seated atthe right edge of thephoto is Bob Jones.

Kathy Barnard presented herButterfly Garden Project installation, andLouis Curiel gave a brief overview ofhow neon can be used to backlight stainedglass; a complete class on this topic willbe offered by Curiel at the Stained GlassSchool next October.

At the business meetings, the mem-bership of the Association voted to adoptsweeping changes to the membership cat-egories of the Association. This will becovered in depth in future issues of thismagazine, of the SGAA’s members-only

newsletter, The Kaleidoscope, and onwww.stainedglass.org.

Former SGAA president AndyYoung spoke at the welcome dinner onkiln-formed glass and how his studio,Pearl River Glass Art, is incorporating itinto their work to great effect. NickParrendo gave a very moving presenta-tion on developing a personal style.

While plans for an outdoor moviehad to be cancelled because of heavy rain,the movie — The African Queen— waspresented indoors in the ballroom. It was

not as charming as an early June eveningin Missouri under the Elms’ gazebo; how-ever, the gourmet popcorn did not getsoggy.

Excelsior Springs was named for themany mineral springs in and near thetown. A century ago, when “taking thewaters” was an international phenomenonthat people believed had healing potential,people came to Excelsior Springs fromaround the world to do just that. The Hallof Waters remains and was a very populartour at this Conference.

The Stained Glass Quarterly 33

Girl with Braids, a small panel by Janet Zambai, was part of the exhibition. This panel received second place in the Painted category.

The Stained Glass Quarterly34

The Shakespeare Chateau hosted our tour luncheon and featured several stained glass installations as well as

incredible handcarved woodwork. The Shakespeare Chateau is a bed and breakfast in St. Joseph, Missouri.

The Stained Glass Quarterly 35

Right: the World War I memorial at the historic Mount Mora Cemetery.

Above: The Beloved Disciple window at ChristEpiscopal Church, St. Joseph.

It has been several years since an all-mem-ber slide show was a part of Conference events;however, it returned this year with the SharingArt: Open Floor Discussion. A number of veryinteresting installations and smaller works wereshown by SGAA members.

Michael Zimmerman was given a well-deserved President’s Award for the extensivevolunteer work he has done on behalf of theAssociation. His dedication should be an inspi-ration to all; without the work he does, theConference would not be as good as it is.

The comedy improvisation group ComedyCity returned to provide entertainment at theAwards Banquet. They appeared at the AwardsBanquet event two years ago and were so pop-ular, they were invited back again to presenttheir fast, smart, and (frankly) a little weirdbrand of comedy improv.

Next year, the Stained Glass Association ofAmerica will be visiting Portland, Oregon,where Uroboros Glass Studio will be hostingwhat promises to be an excellent Conference ina wonderful city. Plans include a business panel,a restoration presentation, a tour of the SavoyStudio, and an in-depth look at Povey and thehistory of stained glass in Portland, plus muchmore. Watch for more information on Portland2015 in coming months.

e