Norbert and Helga Sattler

Norbert and Helga Sattler
Stained glass artisans and restorers
Sattler Stained Glass Studio Ltd., West LaHave, Nova Scotia

Before Helga met Norbert, she lived in the Rhineland in Germany and worked as a nurse.

Then Norbert Sattler came along and—in a nice way—he turned her life upside down.

Norbert was a journeyman “stained glass artisan,” who had completed the gruelling seven-year apprenticeship that is required in Germany. An artist and a man with ambition, Norbert wanted to open his own glass studio. He invited Helga to join him—in business, art, and life. And she said “yes.”

Helga was Norbert’s first apprentice. He taught her the basics of glass and she became skilled at cutting and leading. But also it fell on her to run the business. Norbert had no interest in that end of the operation.

It seemed that just as Helga was getting comfortable, Norbert had another plan: to move to Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, Canada.

The Sattler family, young children now in tow, left Germany. They made a new home for themselves and hung out the shingle for their new shop in West LaHave, near Lunenburg.

The Sattler Stained Glass Studio became a respected institution. As word of their artistry spread, the studio got calls for commissions from other parts of Canada, the U.S. and Europe. The traditional and contemporary stained glass windows that Norbert designed were in demand for churches, public buildings and private homes. Son Fabian apprenticed with his father and joined the family venture.

From the Sattlers’ résumé of many memorable stained glass restorations, one job stands out. That was the restoration of the 24 stained glass windows of the historic St. John’s Anglican Church in Lunenburg.

On Halloween night, 2002, fire broke out in the church. Firefighters couldn’t bring it under control. Finally, with the main entrance of the church near collapse, the chief had to make a terrible decision. He gave the order to break through the stained glass windows so his men could take the hoses into the building and extinguish the flames.

The Sattlers were in New York at the time. When they returned home, they rushed to the scene in Lunenburg. They saw portions of church walls torn down, and St. John’s magnificent stained glass windows shattered on the ground.

Everyone was stunned by the loss. People made an effort to collect the glass. By the space where each window had stood, they placed a cardboard box. Norbert advised them to save everything, even tiny shards.

When the community decided to rebuild their 250-year-old “carpenter Gothic” church, it was natural that they ask the Sattlers to restore the windows.

It was a huge undertaking. The first step was to create cartoons—or drawings—for each window. People came forward with personal photographs of the church. Parks Canada contributed its black-and-white photographic record. Piecing together this photographic jigsaw puzzle, the Sattlers were able to work out design plans for the windows.

Then, working with the glass fragments collected in boxes, they figured out the colour schemes.

Stained glass is a collaborative art.

Sue Obata, a Toronto glass artist who frequently works with the Sattlers, helped Norbert match colours and do the painting and shading. It took a year and a half to recreate the 24 windows—a long and painstaking effort, but the result thrilled the congregation and the community of Lunenburg.

The experience of St. John’s convinced the Sattlers of the need for a system to document stained glass heritage. With support from the Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia, they set up the Maritime Stained Glass Registry in 2004. So far, they have created photographic archives for 150 churches. They are hoping to catalogue hundreds more.

Sattler Stained Glass Studio Ltd.
http://www.sattlerglass.com/

Norbert Sattler: Portrait of a Craftsman by Sarah Hall and Jeffrey Kraegel http://www.sattlerglass.com/about/about-art-glass-magazine.html

Maritime Stained Glass Registry
http://www.sattlerglass.com/msgr/msgr.html

St. John’s Anglican Church, Lunenburg
http://www.stjohnslunenburg.org/