Art of Stained Glass at Conrad Pickel Studio

From Gothic churches, medieval castles, and private homes around the world to the legendary designs of Louis Comfort Tiffany, the timeless beauty of stained glass has captivated admirers for centuries. Today, the treasured art form continues to thrive at the Conrad Pickel Studio, where artisans have been creating stained and faceted glass windows, mosaics, and sculptures for religious and secular buildings around the globe for more than 75 years. 

The Vero Beach studio is headed by president Paul Pickel, whose late father, Conrad, originally established a studio in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1947. Conrad—a stained glass artist, sculptor, and painter—had studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, Germany and learned the art of stained glass at the esteemed Mayer Studio, which is now in its fifth generation. Conrad emigrated to the United States in 1927 and perfected his skills before opening the Milwaukee studio 20 years later. It quickly grew into one of the leading stained glass studios in the country.  

How Vero Beach became home to a world-renowned stained glass studio is a bit more serendipitous, as Paul Pickel recalls: “My dad had friends in Porpoise Point, and he came here to visit them via Eastern Airlines in the mid-1950s. The first time he drove down A1A, there was nothing there. It was all jungle at the time, so he turned around, headed north to Beachland Boulevard, and asked for directions. He was told to keep driving south. He hadn’t gone far enough. He liked the area so much that he bought a riverfront lot and built a house on it. He ended up opening a small studio here in 1956, while the main studio remained in Wisconsin.” 

Paul joined the business after attending school in Germany and studying art and business at the University of Wisconsin. By then he had spent time in his father’s studio and had grown to enjoy the varied and unique masterpieces created by the artisans. He had also grown to love Vero Beach. In 1977, the Pickels transferred their entire operation to a property they had purchased and renovated west of town on State Road 60. Milwaukee’s loss was Vero’s gain.

Since Conrad’s passing in 1994, Paul has continued his father’s legacy alongside a team of professional artists and craftsmen who design and execute one-of-a-kind projects for domestic and international clients. The Pickel Studio is a fully accredited member of the Stained Glass Association of America—one of just 30 in the country producing liturgical and commercial stained glass, and one of only three SGAA-accredited studios in Florida.

It is a Pickel Studio creation that holds the distinction of being the world’s largest stained glass window, according to Guinness World Records. Commissioned for the Resurrection Mausoleum in Justice, Illinois, the project entailed 2,248 individual panels of faceted glass. It was installed in 1971 and spans 22,381 square feet. “I’m still in awe of it myself,” says Pickel.

Many examples of the studio’s work can be seen closer to home. “Locally, we’ve produced stained glass windows for at least 20 to 25 churches, private residences, and clubs throughout Vero,” says Pickel, citing installations at St. Paul’s and St. Mark’s Anglican Churches, First Methodist, Community Church, Christ by the Sea United Methodist Church, Holy Cross and St. Sebastian Catholic Churches, Our Savior Lutheran, Temple Beth Shalom, and Trinity Episcopal. Other Pickel Studio windows adorn chapels at Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital, Indian River Estates, and the Gifford Youth Achievement Center. “We recently completed a beautiful window for the pub at the Vero Beach Country Club, featuring their logo,” he adds. 

The studio also specializes in the restoration of treasured older stained glass windows. “We’ve been in business so long, we have many repeat customers,” says general manager Paul Conley, mentioning as an example the restoration of a window the Pickel Studio originally installed in 1957. 

“Currently, we are working with a historic church in Palatka to restore what is thought to be the oldest stained glass window in Florida,” Conley adds, noting that stained glass production didn’t begin in America until the mid-1800s, and the window is documented to that period.

The detailed, painstaking process of stained glass making hasn’t deviated much from its early European origins more than a millennium ago. It still requires time, patience, and a practiced eye for showcasing the interplay of color and light through glass. It is equal parts art and engineering, for it requires a detailed thematic design as well as the skill to construct and assemble glass and lead that can support its own weight and withstand the test of time and weather. That’s where the talents of the Pickel Studio’s team of artisans shine, with each person playing a pivotal role in the finished product. 

Pickel points out that commissioned stained glass projects always begin with a discussion of the client’s vision. “We find out what type of architectural style the window will accompany and what type of theme the client desires.” Then, master artist Lyn Durham creates a color rendering, and a cost is established. 

Next, Durham creates a full-size black-and-white drawing of the image or scene, called a “cartoon,” which outlines where each color and individual piece of glass will be placed. The lines between the glass pieces indicate where different widths of lead are placed. The width of the lead is important not only for structural support, but also to differentiate the colors, remarks Pickel. Black, he explains, is an important color to add between colors. “It makes the other colors pop. My father always told me, ‘Use more black!’” 

Using special scissors designed to accommodate the width of the lead, Rosie Pickel, Paul’s wife, cuts individual paper patterns that correspond to the shapes delineated in the cartoon. Numbering the paper patterns for reference, she then selects the glass colors from a large inventory of glass panels, based upon the color rendering. The glass panels are color enhanced with various metallic oxides and handblown in Germany as large cylinders before they are flattened and shipped to Vero Beach. 

When colors are determined, foreman Paul Thornton—known affectionately as “PT”—steps in to carefully cut the glass into the corresponding paper pattern shapes. Thornton, who has worked in the stained glass trade since 1999, explains that he scores the glass with a carbonite wheel to disrupt the surface tension of the glass, allowing it to break cleanly. 

If a piece of glass needs painted details, such as those found in faces, Durham applies her artistic skills once again. “We mix powders of metallic oxides, water, and gum arabic to achieve texture and shading, then fire it in the kiln, where it permanently melts into the glass like a ceramic glaze,” explains Conley. The faces, he says, often require five firings in the 1,250-degree kiln to achieve the desired effect. 

When the glass pieces are complete, master glazier Bradley Sanderson leads them together and solders the joints. Following the leading, Logan Jeffords takes over, rubbing cement between the glass and lead bars to strengthen the entire window. Finally, the piece is cleaned and ready for shipment and installation. The entire process, from design to completion, may take up to a year. 

“The quality of the glass, artwork, painting, and craftsmanship are what differentiate us,” observes Conley, admiring the many works in progress throughout the studio. “I’ve been doing this for over 46 years, and I’ve seen a lot of different work all over the country. This is in a league by itself.”

The same might be said of the Pickel Studio’s vibrant mosaics, which are designed in-house and fashioned in Italy with thousands of intricately placed Venetian glass tiles. “We’ve had a working relationship with the Italian company for so long—since the 1950s—that they can deliver in mosaic form exactly what we design,” says Conley. The mosaics, often installed in religious institutions and private homes, can be found throughout Vero Beach and beyond.

 Locally, at the intersection of State Road 60 and 20th Avenue, a beautiful hibiscus mosaic adorns the landmark indicating “Downtown Vero Beach,” and on Indian River Boulevard, visitors to Royal Palm Pointe are greeted by a similar marker sporting a palm tree against the backdrop of a colorful sunrise. The brightly colored splash parks at Royal Palm Pointe and Indian Riverside Park in Jensen Beach also display the Pickel Studio’s work. 

NASA personnel can even place one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind on the large mosaic NASA logo designed and installed by the Pickel Studio in one of the restricted areas of Kennedy Space Center. 

As much as the artisans at the Pickel Studio follow the time-honored techniques of past craftsmen, they have also pioneered innovations and applications for stained glass, mosaic, wood and bronze sculpture, and columbarium niches that satisfy modern sensibilities. Yet, after decades in the business, these craftsmen admit they are still captivated by the craft.

“Out of all the things you can do in the world, it makes a huge difference when your career is spent making things beautiful,” reflects Conley. “What could be better?”