BAY CITY, MI — Faded, darkened and broken glass obscured the beautiful stained glass windows in the nave of Trinity Episcopal Church, 815 N. Grant in Bay City.
Over the past month, two artists have been giving the windows a facelift.
Robert Lovas Sr. and his son, Frank Lovas, with Lovas Family Studio of Stained Glass from Cochrane, Wis., removed, repaired and replaced 23 window panels in the church.
"We couldn't see the faces before," said the Rev. Ann Grady.
"There's light in the nave again."
Some of the panels were so broken that figures were distorted.
The nave of the church is lined with multi-panel windows of realistic art. Some of the panels are 126 years old, their color faded and darkened over the years.
"The glass tells stories and now we can see the richness and brightness of the colors," said Robert Sabourin, organist and choir director.
"I fell in love with stained glass when I was 16 years old," said Lovas Sr., 80.
That was the year he was hired at a friend's dad's stained glass business to transfer an artist's sketches to glass.
"That artist taught me so much; we had a mutual admiration," Lovas Sr. said. "He thought I was talented, and I knew he was."
The Lovases have been at Trinity five times over the years. Lovas' other son, Robert Lovas Jr., who was a partner in the business, had promised their services for this portion of the project. He died unexpectedly nine months ago.
"The people here are almost like a family. I felt a loyalty to come back," said Lovas Sr.
Most of the damage to the windows occurs because of solar heat causing expansion and contraction of the glass and lead.
"The more rapid the expansion and contraction, the more damage it causes," said Lovas.
Lovas uses glass from broken panels and from colored glass he collected over the years to reconstruct panels.
"It's almost impossible to match, but we come very close," he said.
Lovas re-soldered and installed new bracing to stabilize the panels.
"We are working with materials that are conflicting with each other. Only way to prevent the damage is with proper bracing," he said
Technology for braces has changed with new materials and techniques to improve stability of the panels.
The men also are installing laminated glass storm windows on the exterior of the stained glass for additional protection from weather and breakage.
The restoration project began with a fundraising campaign, Save our Sacred Places, more than six years ago.
"Any church or parish exists because of what previous generations built, we are preserving this building for the next several generation," Sabourin said.
The campaign raised more than $700,000 for projects such as a new roof, repairs on the tower and windows.
"People for whom this building was important in their lives contributed to this monumental project," Sabourin said.
"This will be my last job," said Lovas Sr, who said he feels he can't produce like he used to but still loves it.
"These men are artists, and what they are doing is a lost art," Grady said.
