My first encounter with stained glass began in high school, when I wrote a research paper on Gothic architecture and the building of St. Denis and Abbot Sugar, for a project in Modern European history. Around this same time, my brother’s friend came by our home with a stained glass piece he had just completed for a college art project. It was an approximately 36” by 36” panel of random colors. I was so intrigued by this panel. To this day I remember the dark burnished patina on the wide lead and the turpentine smell of the fresh waterproofing. My palate had been touched.
I spent the last two years of high school focusing on art and drafting and how to get out of Texas. My dream now was to attend Rhode Island School of Design, but the high cost of out-of-state tuition kept me in Texas, where I attended Texas Tech in Lubbock as an art major. While in college, I stumbled across a small stained glass shop near the Texas Tech campus, where I signed up for a beginning stained glass class. From that first class, I was hooked on glass. On a trip to Austin, I was told about a glass studio called Renaissance Glass. In my first visit, I glimpsed what I desired to do for living. I saw the model for a glass studio in Renaissance Glass.
I ended up in Waco, Texas, and in 1979, my wife Suzanne and I started Stanton Glass Studio on a shoestring budget. There were not a lot of teaching materials on the subject of stained glass back then. I devoured the books and publications I could get my hands on. Most of my learning of techniques came from observation of how others did things – etched glass, sand carved, painted, copper foiled, beveled and leaded.
One of my first commissions was Central Christian Church in Waco, restoring a handful of windows. I dove into the project, and began the course of learning by doing. The project turned out well. From here we created several new projects for other clients. Once again, every step was a learning process. Looking back at the early years, we really had no guidelines to follow, just common sense and the attitude that we had to do our best.
My studio has grown over the years. It has really surprised me as to the scope of the work Stanton Stained Glass has achieved over the years– both in new work and in restoration. Our portfolio includes a stained glass chandelier for the Badlands Hotel in Lajitas, Texas, several light fixtures for Vic and Anthony’s Steakhouse in Houston, Texas, and a wide variety of work for the Driskill Hotel in Austin, Texas, including the famed Driskill Dome.
Bryant is on the membership committee of the SGAA and on the board of membership.
Invite Bryant to speak at your next seminar or event; he is experienced in educating people concerning stained glass restoration as well as other aspects of stained glass. Check the Calendar of Events for Bryant’s next educational seminar.