In 2013, to honor the 300th birthday of Father Junipero Serra, the founder of the first nine missions in California, a special decorative stained glass wine barrel was produced and art directed by Shawn Barrett and world renowned stained glass studio Judson Studios, with drawings by Andre Miripolsky.
The barrel was brought to the Carmel Mission to be part of the 300th birthday celebration weekend, and was officially blessed by Bishop Richard Garcia on November 24, 2013.
The commemorative artifact barrel will be displayed in several California Missions through 2014. It will eventually travel to Palma De Majorca to be blessed at the Basilica where Father Serra was baptized in 1713. It will then take up its permanent residence in the Father Serra Museum in Petra, Majorca, his birthplace. It was indeed a great honor and pleasure to be involved in such a profound legacy.
[A note for those interested in the technical aspects of this project: most of the glass is hand made and blown which required making sure that there was enough of the same texture and color grade. As this was a new art form in stained glass, and one that is movable (i.e. not on a window frame ), and also experienced in 360 degrees, there were many discussions about light reflection, types of glass to use, and the paint applications on the glass.]
