Pane and Suffering by Cheryl Hollon Read Free Book Online Page B

It has to match the original picture.”
    Savannah grabbed a T-shirt rag, dried the painted face, and took the piece over to the worktable. Jacob followed on quiet feet and even quieter breath.
    â€œThis isn’t the first time you’ve painted glass, is it?”
    He shook his head. “No, Miss Savannah. I started glass painting a few months ago. I’ve been painting at the art center for a long time, but it got too noisy. I like it here much better.”
    At the far end of the worktable, taking up the full width, was a full-sized color collage of the painted pieces. She compared the fired piece with the image of the face of Jesus. “They match perfectly. If anything, your painted image has better eyes. It’s subtle, but they are definitely more expressive.”
    Jacob stood by her side looking at the two pieces. “That’s what Mr. Webb said. It has to match the picture.”
    Savannah blinked and shook her head. He doesn’t realize his talent . She understood why the duplication contract had been awarded to her dad. The glass painting technique alone was reason enough, let alone the combined skill of Hugh and her dad.
    How will Jacob handle it when the shop is sold?
    â€œJacob, who worked on the glass pieces of the panel?”
    â€œMr. Hugh worked on cutting and shaping the glass pieces. Mr. Webb was supposed to start working on the structure stuff.”
    Savannah sat on the tall work stool by the panel and let the enormity of the glass contract sink into her skull. She had been reasonably good with stained glass when she was growing up, but she had been working as a glass blower for the last few years and they were completely different skills. Stained glass is cutting and shaping cold glass into rigid designs. Glass blowing involves inflating molten glass into a bubble with the aid of a blow tube, then working the glass with a torch to form glassware.
    Am I still good enough ? She wondered to herself.
    â€œWell, Jacob”—she got up, found a worn work apron, put it over her head, and tied the strings around her back—“now is the time to find out if I can still cut glass.”
    He looked at the door and back at Savannah. “May I check on Suzy, please?”
    â€œOf course. Make sure that you are free of any glass bits before you pick her up. Understand?”
    â€œYes, Miss Savannah.” Jacob vigorously scrubbed his brush along his arms, chest, and legs, making a little humming noise as he worked. He practically skipped from the room.
    She turned back to the duplicate panel , thinking little Suzy is a gift.
    The panel was nearly complete. Under the worktable on the shelving underneath lay more than enough cathedral glass to finish the project. Even if more than one attempt was needed for each of the remaining pieces, at least she wouldn’t have to worry about color matching the expensive glass with another order from the manufacturer.
    Savannah selected a piece that consisted of about eight square inches and only one curve. She tore a piece of butcher paper from the vertical cutter on the far wall and put it in the center of the worktable that Hugh had used.
    Not yet ready to stand in her dad’s place, she traced a template of the piece onto a small piece of butcher paper. She cut the paper with an X-ACTO knife and pasted it to the glass with a glue stick. Next, she protected the edges of the paper with wax. She moved over to the cutting section of the workbench and made the straight cuts with no problem. Picking up her dad’s cutter, she placed it precisely on the curve and began to score.
    â€œMiss Savannah?” Jacob appeared at her elbow.
    Savannah flinched and the cutter threatened to veer off the line, but she pressed her lips tight and continued to guide the cutter off to the edge of the glass. Well, that proves I need practice . She turned to Jacob and smiled.
    â€œDid Hugh tell you about when you should talk and when you