Counselor, friend Mark Lyman is also Blanding’s Stained Glass Guru

by Janet Wilcox
Contributing writer
Most people think of Mark Lyman as a skilled counselor and wise friend, but he also has many creative talents.  He majored in art at Brigham Young Universtity, graduating in 1967.
This led him to a skill that few people are patient enough to learn: creating beautiful stained glass windows. 
He first encountered the majesty of stained glass at the Cologne Cathedral while living in Germany in the 1960’s.
“It was the first time I appreciated the practice of medieval people building stone cathedrals, soaring higher than seemingly possible.
The stained glass windows placed along the walls were high enough to cause you to look up, heavenward. The combination of stone, colored glass and incense in the air must have been a magical and humbling experience for medieval people, as it is for us today.”
Years later, the Lymans took their family to Cologne to help them capture some of that magic. “It was still there and has been each time we’ve visited,” he emphasized.
That same experience and sense of awe can be found in cathedrals all around the world: St. Paul’s and Westminster Cathedrals in London, Canterbury Cathedral, St. Albans in Copenhagen, Sulzberger Dom and Nurnberg Abbey in Salzburg, as well as many smaller, lesser-known ones. 
The famous Rose Window in the Notre Dame Cathedral survived the fire of 2019 and is again open to the public, as well as the lesser-known Sainte-Chapelle, also in Paris.
In the United States, the St. Savior’s Church in Bar Harbor, Maine has the largest collection of Louis Comfort Tiffany stained glass windows.
“These are at eye level and although marvelous, don’t seem to inspire the same sense of wonder as those in cathedrals,” Mark explained. 
“They feel more like an art museum. Being forced to look heavenward seems to be good for the soul!”
In many ways stained glass as an art form is similar to piecing a quilt, though not as easy to fix if you make a mistake! 
First, the size is determined, then the pattern and color scheme is planned, using various colors of glass which are purchased at art stores.
Next, the creator determines a pattern and which colors to use. The real artistry and skill begins as glass is cut into specific shapes, then tediously put back together like a puzzle, thus creating a visual masterpiece. 
It is not an easy to do, quick project but one requiring time, skill, patience and careful attention to detail.
A unique range of materials are involved in making stained-glass windows. The palette consists of colored glass, copper foil, and solder (which holds the creation together). 
As with other art forms, the creator first plans the size and design and determines what colors to use and how shapes will fit together in the predetermined space. 
Next the shapes are traced onto colored glass which has to be clean and dry on both sides.  It is then scored with a sharp tool specifically used for glass, so it breaks precisely.
Straight lines are cut first, then the curved ones.  All the edges are sanded with fine sand paper so they fit tightly, like puzzle piece.
The next step is to melt copper foil, making it moldable and able to bend on both sides of the glass.
The final procedure is to solder every piece together with an 80 watt soldering iron, using flux so that both sides stay in place. The foil is like wire and comes in various colors depending on the artist’s preferences. Even a small stained glass piece 14 X 20 inches may take as long as a week or more to create.
Mark has made a dozen or more 4X8X6 pieces and several larger 20X20 stained glass panels. Some are in their home and others given as gifts to family.
As with all art forms, there may be disasters along the way, but the final outcome is still worth the effort!  This is a very difficult skill to learn, thus few locations in the world are blessed to have such art. However, if you’re looking for a quick and easy imitation, you can paint on glass; which is likely what was done on the large colored glass window once located in the Blanding South Chapel.