The Story Behind the Salt Lake Temple’s New Art Glass

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:08]The last glass I produced, I am so in love with. Glass for Mary.

[00:00:12]>> I flew out here to Bullseye to see this glass for Mary Magdalene and just looking at it on the table, it's spectacular.

[00:00:27]>> Yeah. The color behind it's going to come through there.

[00:00:29]>> Exactly. There's this this certain shade of red and certain shade of pink which is a really difficult color to make. The coloring I use for that has to be gold to produce that particular shade. It's not something I want to get wrong. I did a lot of experiments. I probably did a dozen 15 small melts just to get myself pointed in the right direction to produce that glass just for the color.

[00:00:51]And it's a dialogue between you and that material as you manipulate the roller and the glass manipulates you at the same time.

[00:01:03]There's this synergy between the two of you as you're producing something. The glass is just so it's so alive.

[00:01:10]>> That's beautiful.

[00:01:11]>> Each sheet is unique because of the heat treatment. Sometimes they would come out of the kil and it's like, okay, that's not quite there.

[00:01:18]So I would go back again to the drawing board and I think we're finally there.

[00:01:23]>> This is perfect. We all are working in this extraordinary unprecedented project that we have to all come together. Just really lovely >> in and around the same time and and be flexible.

[00:01:34]>> It's special. It's pretty magical. They may not understand everything that went into producing the work, but that doesn't matter. What matters is it will speak to them and uh it will give them joy. I have that unique opportunity of making something perfect. It never is, but I have the opportunity of it being perfect.

[00:01:54]There aren't a lot of glass manufacturers. There are even fewer that do what we do. Even fewer, if any, that do what we just did.

[00:02:03]I'm making something that's never been made before will never be made again. I have been given the opportunity to participate in something that will be around much long after I'm gone.