"You are bringing something back to life"

Thursday 22 September 2022

When she was cutting glass in her father’s studio around the age of eight, this self-taught local stained-glass artist never imagined she would one day be tasked with reviving an iconic island building.

What started with painting glass circles as Euro coins – Joanne Mackenzie-Lane's first memory of glass work – bloomed into a lifelong passion and career, which has so far encompassed 25 private home restoration and commission pieces, as well as work on the windows of St. Ouen’s Manor and St. Mark’s Church, the latter of which she worked on with her father.

Her most recent project? Restoring the iconic Howard Davis Hall.

“It’s nice to think that with my dad having taught himself and then teaching me, he has passed the baton to me in a way,” Joanne said.

“We still work together. If I have a big project, he will help me, and I do the same. It works well!”

Pictured: A finished masterpiece by Joanne.

Creating and restoring stained glass is “a bit of process and much like a puzzle” as Joanne explained.

The more intricate the design, the more glass and lead cuts, and therefore time, are required. When working on a new design, Joanne starts by drawing out the pattern. She then cuts each piece to shape, and, where required for the design - for example for a face or scenery like in churches - paints and fires the glass in a kiln. Then she “builds” the design by cutting lead to shape around and fit each piece of glass, all the while ensuring each piece fits into the next.

After soldering each joint to make sure the lead sticks together, she then cements the panel, which needs to set for two days, before cleaning it, polishing it and finally staining the lead.

In the case of restorations, Joanne sometimes needs to take panels apart to replace broken pieces or damaged lead and repeats the process as above. This is especially the case for windows where several pieces are broken, and it is impossible to repair in situ by delicately bending back the lead and cutting a new piece to fit.

With 13 large panels to restore, the ceiling of Howard Davis Hall has been her most testing commission to date. “I had never done a ceiling before,” Joanne said. “It was a good challenge, and I did enjoy doing it, even though I was on crutches at the time! Seeing the finished result was worth it.

"I like the fact that working on stained glass means you are bringing something back to life and that you left a bit of an imprint. When you work in a church, or Howard Davis Hall, the stained-glass panels go back years and years, and they will then last for years and be enjoyed by everyone.

“When I do commissions for private houses, it’s nice to see people are putting a little bit more love in their houses. It’s nice to see people are wanting that traditional craft. I love that it makes it more personal. When you finish a job and you see the light comes through, it makes you feel very proud!”

Pictured: A crafty work in progress.

Joanne is constantly honing her craft, picking up new skills with every commission, as when she had to restore three curved panels. “Neither my father nor I had ever seen something like that before,” Joanne said. “It was quite a challenge to get the curve they wanted and the team behind the project actually built a sort of base for me to build the windows off of.”

She also needs to adapt to her customers’ wishes, as she creates unique designs for each commission. One of her strangest requests, she said, came from Lulu Macdonald of the Cargo Collective: a series of stained glass hats in a similar style to Tiffany lamp shades. “I made them in purple, blue, amber and green,” Joanne recalled. “This was a challenge in itself but it was so much fun to create.”

Stained glass is not the only area in which Joanne expresses her creativity. After an art and design degree at Highlands College, she discovered a love for floristry whilst working for a wedding florist. Having decided working in an office was not for her, Joanne went freelance, and, in June 2019, she opened JM Emporium in First Tower. In addition to her glass work and floral arrangements, Joanne also sells the work of local creators: candle makers Shara and Divine Zen, macramé artist BohoHitch, card and print makers Ali Artology and Unique Word Designs; as well as Emily Claire Jewellery and Purple Panda Creations.

Pictured: Joanne's creativity appears limitless.

While Joanne never imagined she would become a stained-glass artist herself, “it was my dad’s thing” she says, the idea from JM Emporium actually sprouted a long time ago.

“When I opened my shop, my father gave me an application form I had filled in for a school when I was younger,” she said.

“One of the questions was, ‘what is your business goal in life / what would you like to do?’ and I wrote ‘I would like a shop that has all sorts of arts and crafts and the freedom to be creative’. I think I managed to create that space!”

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This article first appeared in the September edition of Connect Magazine, which you can read below...