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Mackenzie Campbell

@campbell.heritage

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🪟Before a historic stained glass window can be restored, it first needs to be documented✍️.

This process is called a rubbing. Paper is laid over the panel and the lead lines are traced with a charcoal sheet to create an exact map of the window before it comes apart.
Every crack, curve, and piece recorded before restoration begins.

Click the link in our bio to see the lecture and follow for the full demonstraition video coming soon!
Thank you to architectural stained glass artist Mackenzie Campbell @campbell.heritage for sharing this process with us!

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🙌Sometimes a stained glass window can be conserved, meaning we stabilize and retain most of the original material.
🛠️Other times, the lead has deteriorated to the point where releading becomes necessary. That’s restoration, not failure, part of the life cycle of a stained glass window.
😱Taking a panel apart can feel dramatic, but often it’s what allows the original glass to survive for generations to come.

Thank you Mackenzie Campbell ( @Campbell.heritage ) for demonstraiting this carefull process!
Dont forget to check out our youtube channel for the full video!

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We had so much fun at Doors Open St. Catharines 🙌
So much in fact, that we want to do it again!

📆If you missed us this weekend, drop-by Saturday, July 18 for a Summer Saturday of pop-up food, heritage conservation demonstrations, kid's activities and more!

Thanks to all our community partners for a really great day!
@char_in_the_kitchen
@campbell.heritage
@aboriginalhealthcentre
@peterbeowulfhudson Doors Open St. Catharines at The Brown Homestead 2026 picnicking on the lawn

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Are you ready for "Stained Glass in Practice: Craft, Conservation, and Adaptive Reuse" with architectural stained glass artist Mackenzie Campbell! @campbell.heritage

Click the link in our bio for more information and follow us on YouTube for more heritage conservation education coming soon!

Thank you to our sponsor Stellar Contracting!
@stellar.contracting

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Nails and markings in the John Brown House Dining Room floorboards suggest a floorcloth had once been installed.

This custom piece was made to replace a failing earlier version return the room to a more historically appropriate finish. The design helps tell a story of the families who lived in the house and the marks they made here.

This month is #MarchMeetTheMaker! We'll highlight some of the creative work that goes into rehabilitating our historic site. Our Project Manager Mackenzie Campbell leads the conservation and craftsmanship projects on site, including this floorcloth.

Follow along for more, and check out our YouTube Channel for the full video.

#MarchMeetTheMaker2026 @MarchMeetTheMaker #HistoricFloorcloth #Floorcloths #Craftsmanship

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Documentation 🤝 Conservation

It is not simply enough to say “This place matters” without being able to answer the crucial question of “Why?”

Documenting history is a valuable tool for the conservation of Canadian buildings, and winter is a prime time for research and writing! Check out our latest journal article (link in bio) to learn more about how historical reports can act as legal safeguards, archival records exist as crucial #storytelling tools, and in this fast-paced technological age we can use historical data as fodder to invest towards #digitalpreservation.

@cityofstcatharines @lovestc_
#OurHomeSTC #HeritageConservation #HistoricalResearch #Documentation

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At the studio in Siena, we worked through the full medieval stained glass process: cutting, painting, firing, leading, and soldering. We painted two identical panels using two different grisaille techniques, one with water and vinegar, and one with oil. Same design, completely different behavior.

Some moments were quiet and laser focused, barely breathing, knowing a single brushstroke could change everything. Other times we were delirious after six hours of precision, fueled by many cappuccinos. That’s when @colin.kraczkowsky and I would perform whatever song was stuck in our heads at the moment.

It was usually “Perfect Day” by Hoku.

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Ten days in Siena changed the way I think about glass, history, and devotion.

I took a glass painting masterclass at Vetrate Artistiche Toscane @massimo.bracciali and it was a life changing experience, one I will carry with me for the rest of my career. My Santa Caterina piece made it home safely to Chicago.

I chose St. Catherine of Siena because she is woven deeply into the city’s history. I did not grow up religious, and my knowledge of saints was limited at best. At first, her story shocked me. Her extreme devotion, her physical suffering, her intensity. But living alongside her presence in Siena changed my understanding entirely.

I saw her everywhere. In the streets, in her home, at San Domenico where her preserved head is displayed, and in the quiet underground spaces of the medieval hospital where she rested after caring for the sick and dying. Context transformed her from an abstract figure into a fully human force.

Santa Caterina was formidable. A prolific writer at a time when few women were literate, she fearlessly challenged power. Her letters to the Pope are often credited with influencing his return to Rome after seventy years in Avignon. She died at just 33.

I already miss walking Siena’s medieval streets, feeling inspired at every turn, and sharing that time with an incredible group of artists. Learning side by side, comparing notes, and holding our finished pieces up to the same light was as meaningful as the work itself.

I keep thinking about the thousands of people across centuries who have stood beneath the same Duomo ceiling stars I echoed in this piece. Imagining Caterina walking past the studio building, just down the street from her home.

Now I have a small piece of Siena in my own home.

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DAY 9 — And Just Like That… We’re Done.

Our final day in the studio was everything we love about these courses: beautiful, funny, chaotic in the best way, and full of those bittersweet “last day” moments.

Today we finished leading the panels, wrapped everything safely, and packed each piece for its journey home.
There’s nothing quite like seeing a student hold their completed stained-glass panel - the one they painted, fired, and built 🫶🪟✨

And then comes the hardest part…
Saying goodbye.

Over nine days, you can’t help but form bonds - over paint trays, shared mistakes, triumphs, belly laughs, tired afternoons, and those late-in-the-process breakthroughs.
We’re always amazed by how strangers walk in… and a little studio family walks out.

To our students:
We wish you well on your journeys, both in art and in life. May your panels hang proudly, may your creativity stay loud, and may our paths cross again in the years to come. 🤍

Want to learn with us in Tuscany?
📧: bracciali.massimo@gmail.com

#VetrateArtisticheToscane #StainedGlass #Paintingcourse #SienaArtStudio #italy

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DAY 8 — Time to Bring It All Together

Now that our glass paintings have survived their final firing, it’s officially panel-building time. 🔥➡️🪟

There’s something incredibly special about this stage…
Watching each student piece together their cut glass, painted details, shadows, and highlights into a full stained-glass panel - a final artwork that didn’t exist eight days ago.

From a blank sheet of glass… to a design… to paint… to fire…
Now? A their window tells their story. 🤍

Curious to join us in 2026?
📧 bracciali.massimo@gmail.com

#VetrateArtisticheToscane #StainedGlass #TuscanyWorkshops #HandmadeInItaly #ArtCourseItaly

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Day 7 — Final Touches & Enamel Magic

The studio felt extra special today; that perfect mix of calm focus, steady laughter, and the kind of conversations that only happen when hands are busy creating.

We welcomed a special guest back to the studio (Alberto Positano👋🏼), shared stories over the worktables, and watched friendships take shape just as beautifully as the glass panels themselves.

Students added their final touches, then moved into today’s highlight: applying enamels for that last pop of depth and colour. The remaining pieces ready for the final firing.

The finish line is in sight, and every panel is shaping up to tell it’s story — of skill, patience, and the connections built along the way. 💛

#VetrateArtisticheToscane #StainedGlassCourse #art #Enamels #italy

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Day 6 — Matting Style Unlocked 🎨

Today we dove into a new (old) style of matting. The panels are starting to come alive as brushes keep moving, building on details, and everyone slipped right back into the flow of painting. 🖌️

Thinking about joining us for a future courses?
Email us for details → bracciali.massimo@gmail.com

#StainedGlassArt #PaintingOnGlass #siena #VetrateArtisticheToscane #art

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