Challenges

More than two years ago I began work on a stained glass panel depicting the burial of young Job Welling Jr.  on the handcart trail in Iowa.  I had taken pictures of the site years before but other events intervened.  As I finally unearthed the initial design from the oblivion of being buried beneath other unfinished tasks I realized that certain aspects of the design would have to be revamped.  I changed the woman's pose and added a bush of sunflowers to break up the curved lines of the handcart wheels.  This occurred before I entered my new phase of life when my studio became a haven of  creativity and serenity preserved by ceiling height curtains.  The prospect of making all those sunflowers daunted me.  Surely it was inspiration that led me to recruit two of my grandchildren as apprentices.  Now they are active participants in the design.  I am grateful for challenge turned to opportunity.