Several years ago, we worked with a couple creating a chapel for the Catholic Diocese on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina.

They had purchased a stained-glass window, probably made in the 1950s, that they wanted to install above the altar. After lifting it into place for the first time, they noticed Mary’s face and hands were not up to the aesthetic level of the rest of the window. They later learned the original face and hands had been removed and replaced by a lesser artist.

They contacted my son Daniel and me to see if we could replace the mismatched glass with a more inspiring portrait of Mary. Because the chapel dedication was near, they flew us down in a small plane piloted by an off-duty pilot who flew Blackhawks for the Navy.

After studying the project for several hours, we flew back, and Daniel went to work collaborating with our patrons on how they wanted Mary to look.

After about three weeks, the painting was complete, and Marcia and I drove down to Oracoke so I could install the newly painted face and hands.

Custom-painted faces and hands are quite valuable and fragile. If I were to break one of the pieces of glass, whose responsibility would it be to replace it? Daniel and I discussed this but never came to any conclusion. Maybe it should have been a three-way discussion, including the owner.

I decided any such discussion would doubt my skills, so I accepted full responsibility for my craftsmanship.

After arriving, I spent a day and a half removing the original face and hands, carefully grinding and fitting the new pieces into place while sitting on the edge of scuffling fifteen feet in the air.

As we often say in the shop, almost anyone can do good work if given enough time.