arThou Blog: Resource about arT, arTists, Burning Man Theme camps, festivals and self-expression

Mt. Airy stained glass maker one of nation’s best

Charles Z. Lawrence points to his studio copy of “The Raising of Lazarus,” one of five windows he made for the National Cathedral in Washington. The original contains an unusual ingredient (see story). (Photo by Richard S. Lee)

After a Depression-affected childhood in Newton, New Jersey (“about as far up into New Jersey as you can get”), Mt. Airy’s Charles Z. Lawrence, one of the country’s most gifted stained glass makers, worked at several non-career jobs after high school. These even included a brief stint at the Brooklyn girdle factory that employed his mother. In an essay he wrote for The Stained Glass Quarterly magazine, Charles, now 74, described his introduction to the world of stained glass this way:

“I started to become interested in painting … In my senior year of high school, the school had an art show in a park … I sold all my watercolors. I made $15. I was hooked; I was going to become an artist if it killed me.

“[The German master craftsman and World War II refugee] Rudolf H. Buenz saw some of my paintings and offered me an apprenticeship. So in 1960 when I left the North Jersey woods, I left as a journeyman-craftsman to spend the next four years in New York City and to work at the [stained glass] craft while continuing my studies as a fine arts student.” (He studied at the Pratt School of Design in Brooklyn.)

The apprenticeship stretched to seven years, while Lawrence learned every part of the ancient art of stained glass. He said, “I’m just about the last of the traditional stained glass apprentices — and one day, I’ll write a book about it.” Even now, 50 years later, he still calls Rudolf Buenz “Maestro.”

Lawrence attributes his “chameleon” stained glass style — any treatment, from Medieval to abstract — to his extensive training with different glass designers and his work in several studios. He, his wife, Jonelle Shilito, and baby daughter lived in Greenwich Village during the mid-’60s.

As such things have a way of happening, Lawrence’s New York-based work dried up in 1966. The promise of a job with Willet Studios, then in Chestnut Hill, brought the Lawrences to Philadelphia. After renting a house for a year, Charles bought the vintage property on Allens Lane where he still lives. It is both a charming residence and a complete stained glass studio with adjoining workroom. Much of the house’s glass has been replaced with Lawrence designs — a constant pleasure to its creator and to anyone visiting this attractive home.

Created by West Mt. Airy resident Charles Z. Lawrence is this stunning Reformation window in the west clerestory of the south transept, National Cathedral, Mount St. Alban in Washington, D.C.

Lawrence worked as Willet’s designer from 1967 until 1982, when he opened the C.Z. Lawrence Stained Glass Studios, although “I still design for Willet.” (The company has moved from Chestnut Hill to the Juniata section of the city.) Since going entirely freelance in 1982, Lawrence has done it all: concept, design, glass specifying and cutting, painting, puttying, assembly and installation. He hires helpers as needed, and a daughter, Tracy Bailey, is a frequent co-worker.

A stained glass craftsman is, of course, defined by his body of work, and Lawrence’s work is as varied as it is prestigious. His stained glass windows impart beauty to religious and secular buildings alike. One assignment — of towering height — was the 43-foot-tall commission for the Washington (DC) Temple of Latter Day Saints. (“You know, the one that looks like the Emerald City in a different color as you drive toward it on the Washington Beltway.”) He even has a copy of the Book of Mormon inscribed with thanks for the beauty of the windows.

“My best paintings are the five windows I designed for the National Cathedral in Washington,” he replied when asked to name a favorite commission. As for an unusual assignment, he named “The 10,000 times magnification of the molecule that makes Gore-Tex [fabric] work,” the window he designed for the fabric manufacturer’s Cherry Hill, MD headquarters.

Charles Z. Lawrence is as masterful a storyteller as he is a craftsman. To appreciate two such tales, you should understand that stained glass is assembled with lead channels separating the individual pieces of glass. This sealant should stay pliable; if it performs as it should, the stained glass window will flex noticeably under windy conditions but will resist blowing out of its frame; the sealant cushions the glass throughout the window’s lifetime.

In the winter of 1956 and 1957, Charles was part of the team installing 15 large windows in St. Henry’s Roman Catholic Church near Nashville. “Don’t ever think the South doesn’t get cold!” he said of this adventure. “One day [as we were installing], the wind blew so hard the boss on the job tied down his little Porsche to keep it from blowing over. One window was flexing as we put it in place — rippling, almost — but it didn’t break. That was more than 50 years ago. Those windows are still there.”

Charles Lawrence lives with his wonderful dog, Buddah, a refugee from the mean streets. “I cleaned the living room to prepare for this interview,” he said. “I even cleaned my dog’s teeth for you.” And this led him to another story.

In years past, Lawrence also had a dog, Angus, a beloved black Labrador. Dog and master were inseparable, going for walks in Fairmount Park at workday’s end, and even out for occasional beers. When Angus died, a saddened Lawrence had him cremated but did not bury the ashes. At the time, he was also facing what every creative person must from time to time: a supposedly completed job needing revision. (We know!)

In this case, it was for the Raising of Lazarus window at the National Cathedral. Out it came, and back to Charles’ Mt. Airy workshop for the re-do. Away went the rejected glass segments; in went the new. But not without re-puttying. In his 1991 Stained Glass Quarterly essay, Lawrence wrote: “There was one last thing to do, puttying. I don’t bother much with either making or applying the putty, but this time was special … I wanted one more thing for the putty. I found it! The last thing that went into that window was a handful of Angus’ ashes [in the putty], and then the window went back to the National Cathedral. The window was accepted … with acclaim.

“The Cathedral is done, and Angus is in a safe place for the coming millennium, and after that we will be together again.”

To reach CZ Lawrence Stained Glass, call 215-247-3985 or e-mail czlg@earthlink.net. To view his work online, Google his name.

By Richard S. and Missy Lee
Source: The Chestnut Hill Local