Pharr – Stained glass has been part of our world for thousands of years. First used by the Egyptians and ancient Romans, the beauty of stained glass has been stunning to the eyes for generations, but finding someone who is a master at this art form can be difficult. That is unless you head down to the valley to visit La Casa del Vitral.
The Gelman Stained Glass Museum in San Juan, Texas is a great stop to see some of these incredible works of art but before they’re hung in this one of kind exhibit, Juan Carlos Castillo has to restore them. “It’s just pure, pure art,” said Jennifer Castillo. “Pure art.”
Jennifer is Juan Carlos’ wife and she’s a part of the team that doesn’t just restore these incredible stained-glass windows, but also creates them. “It’s all a team effort here,” said Jennifer. “Everybody does their little part to be able to put together the project at the end.”
Slowly, methodically, and very carefully, Juan Carlos meticulously takes apart and repairs the stained glass from the museum. Watching this process can be a bit nerve wracking, especially since the glass being worked on during our tour is worth $280,000.
These windows have stood the test of time and thanks to some delicate care from Juan Carlos, these old kaleidoscopes of colors come alive like the day they were made, no matter how many hundreds of years ago that was.
“You see it and you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh,’” said Jennifer. “It is just amazing the way the colors of the glasses, the techniques, how everything put together can feel so vivid. These are next level pieces of artistry.”
The Gelman Stained Glass Museum has some of the who’s who when it comes to this artform, and that includes a massive piece done by Juan Carlos and his team. “You go to this museum and you see artists that are from Germany, Britain, all these other places, but for him to have a piece or to have pieces next to these renowned people, I think it’s a merit and an accomplishment that goes beyond for him as a person,” said Jennifer.
Not bad for a boy from Guadalajara whose been honing his craft since he was 13. “Every time I see a piece that my husband finishes, it really transports me to that space and time, whoever or whatever the art is,” said Jennifer.
Juan Carlos’ wife isn’t the only one who’s impressed by his works of art. “I was pretty much blown away by seeing the quality of the work,” said Hector Rodriguez.
Hector is Juan Carlos’ right hand man and everything he knows, he learned from Juan Carlos. “He’s always resourceful, teaching us to have discipline to manage our time more effectively and use our tools and resources in the most effective way,” said Hector.
The process it takes to create these windows is a bit daunting. From creating a life-sized drawing of the work to cutting out each individual piece of glass, painting pieces of the glass, and putting it all together, every piece truly is a masterpiece. “What we do is we take the stencils from the design, we cut it up with special scissors to give the space in between the pieces where the copper foil is going to be put,” said Hector. “And then Juan Carlos cuts each piece by hand, and then they get painted and then they’re going to get assembled. These are going to be flowers and we don’t want them to look like big pieces. We want them to look as naturalistic as possible, so we put the highest amount of detail that we can.”
“It is just amazing the way the colors of the glasses, the techniques, how everything put together can feel so vivid,” said Jennifer.
Just seeing these works will bring a tear to some but for Jennifer, seeing her husband be successful in creating these incredible works is what does it to her. “As a wife, I feel really, really proud and many times I don’t tell him that, but I am very proud of him,” said Jennifer. “And the hope that he brings to anybody that really gets to know himself and his story is amazing.”
With each small piece of tinted glass, Juan Carlos continues to build his fragile body of work, a colorful catalog that will see the light of day for a very long time. “I believe that his legacy is something very beautiful and I feel privileged that our kids are going to live onto that,” said Jennifer. “And hopefully they’ll be drawn to the artistry too and keep that name and keep the momentum going with this industry.”