I've been working on this Waugh window for two days now, and I keep finding more hairline fractures and missing glass chips. I don't know why this particular window is in worse shape than the others. It's from a centre window, and maybe it was opened and closed more than the others. Anyway, I'll do what I can to stabilize it, but I may have to replace several pieces.
I have been putting labels on all the windows as they're removed so that I remember where they go back in. But as I see more and more panels being laid out, I am starting to panic. I'm getting in deeper and deeper, more and more committed to this project. The first window was an exploration, but now we're into the thick of it and there's no turning back. Removing the frames, removing cement, flattening out, general clean-up, soldering, re-cementing, re-framing. Theoretically, it's simple enough to do. But I think the enormity of the project is beginning to dawn on me. Especially as I start to run out of places to lay the panels out.
Ah well, it's too late to say "nevermind!" Like with childbirth, there's no way through it but through. And it's a meditative sort of activity. I turn on Tibetan music on the loudspeaker and give myself over to my tiny tools. Except while the hands are busy, the brain is free to twirl...I need to buy more latex gloves. I need more filters for the shop vac. I need to source better cement. I need to find glass to match this 80-year-old piece. I need to buy eleven folding tables to hold all the panels.
I need to remain calm and breathe...
Though, because I'm wearing a protective mask, it fogs my safety glasses.
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