GRANTS - At least 35 aspiring stained glass artists surrounded master artist Cecilio Sanchez Saturday at the Double Six Gallery as he demonstrated the tools and techniques of the art form.

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    “I showed the attendees the different types of stained glass and the different media used in painting the glass,” Sanchez explained.

    Sanchez is known in the area for his sacred art, which includes paintings and non-traditional retablos.

    He brought in several examples of stained glass art to show the students, including a work called “The Blessed Trinity,” which he currently working on. “This is really an art form for serious students because the equipment can be quite expensive,” he noted.

    Sanchez demonstrated the use of several of these tools, including a diamond bladed glass cutter and a grinder with a diamond bit, which grinds the glass to shape.

    “These tools are used in intricate stained glass designs, like the kind of work that Tiffany used to create,” he explained.

    The attendees listened avidly as he explained the fabrication process and many of them will return to the second part of the workshop to be held next Saturday from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at the gallery.

Sanchez first took an interest in stained glass after talking with a colleague at Sandia Laboratory, who was a practicing artist in the medium. The friend had studied in Europe under several master stained glass artists.

    “My mentor wrote several books on the topic and I provided paintings to serve as illustrations,” he said.

In addition to stained glass, Sanchez paints retablos. “I created 14 retablos for the Stations of the Cross for the Church of the Holy Spirit in Gallup, which is actually an Episcopal Church,” he said. “Because I make them out of both wood and metal, they're considered non-traditional retablos.”

    His stained glass work can be seen in San Lorenzo Mission near El Morro and San Rafael Mission Church. “I was doing some engineering work during the renovation of the church in San Rafael and noticed that the rock wall behind the altar made the sanctuary rather dark, so I suggested a stained glass window for the space and everyone liked the idea,” he recalled.

    Gallery Director Robert Gallegos hopes that the Sanchez demonstration will be only the first in a series. “This is the closest we can come to a one-man show, because the featured artist can take up the center space of the main gallery with his work, while leaving the wall space for the regular exhibits,” he explained.

    “I'm hoping other artists will follow Cecilio's example because it's advantageous to them as their art will be featured for two to four weeks for two hours of work. It allows us to give something back to the community. Our demonstrations are free, while a comparable event elsewhere would cost at least $35 each to the participants,” Gallegos stated.

Gallegos sees Sanchez as multi-talented artist because of his mastery of several media.

    Any artist-member of the Cibola Arts Council who is interested in doing an arts demonstration can call Gallegos at 287-7311.