Art meets artistry in stained glass

While many people admire Jeff Cofell’s work, very few have any idea how he does it.

Cofell is the owner of Magnolia Stained Glass Studio in Blenheim and said he’s used to questions.

“People love it when they see it but there aren’t very many who have an idea how it gets done,” he said.

“If you were to pick a career to get into no one would pick this first but it sort of just happened,” he said. “In a way, it’s like I didn’t even choose this. Never in the world would I have guessed I’d be doing something I love and owning my own business.”

Jeff has had the studio for eight years but has been in the glass business for twice that long.

“I started at Erie Glass and worked there for five years,” he said. “That’s where I was trained and learned the basics of cutting glass. I love the idea of working with glass but I wanted to do more along the artistic side.”

Two years work at Carousel Glass in Ridgetown gave him the experience he needed to work in stained glass.

Much of Jeff’s focus right now is on restoration of stained glass in heritage buildings and churches.

“It’s amazing to be working on something that dates from a hundred years or more,” he said. “You get a real sense of history and a chance to bring the work back to life.”
The restoration process involves removing the lead channel between glass segments, cleaning each piece of glass, replacing any that are chipped. He then re-leads the channels and makes sure everything is snug.

The more intricate pieces require the use of carbon paper so that an imprint can be made to ensure everything goes back where it belongs.

“You need patience for this,” he said. “There is no way to rush it.”

He restored windows at the Mary Webb Centre in Highgate, a process that took two years.

He recently completed work for the former Rutherford United Church and has projects lined up for the Turin United Church as well as private clients.

When he’s designing his own pieces, Jeff uses what’s known as the copper foil method in which glass is cut, and the pieces are grinded.

“You wrap the edges in copper foil and then once the pieces are laid down you solder them,” he said.

Jeff enjoys making his own designs but has to bow to deadline pressure for restoration.

“It kind of comes and goes,” he said. “I really enjoy working with customers who want my designs and I’ve been lucky enough to have a few people give me a free hand with their custom work.”

He said stained glass is not only for doors and windows but is also increasingly used for decoration purposes.

“There is nothing like it when the sun shines through stained glass,” he said. “No wonder it was used in so many churches. It’s really inspirational.