Scott Poynter has been working with stained glass as long as his dad, art teacher Jack Poynter, would allow him. Around age 14, following in his father’s footsteps, Poynter learned how to work with steady hands and visual design.
Known now for his beveled and stained glass custom doors, Poynter also helps churches restore their stained glass windows.
After the tornado went through Bremen and Mayfield last year, Poynter was contacted by Bethlehem Baptist Church in Bremen to restore their damaged windows. For more than a year, Poynter has worked with the church committee to salvage what he could and bring the windows back to their original beauty so they can be reinstalled when the overall church restoration is completed.
For the process, Poynter brings the damaged window to his studio located in The Glass Factory (2690 Frederica Street) and does a chalk rubbing to lay down the design. He then removes the damaged and broken glass and sends the colors to a glass business that matches not only the color but the time period of the original glass. Once returned, Poynter cuts the glass to fit, lays it out, and solders the glass in.
For Bethlem Baptist, Poynter did three total windows, each with two panes. He has already taken three of the panes to the church and will be finished with the other three.
While working on that project, Poynter has also been completing windows for a church in Evansville and is in the planning stages of work for windows for a church in Mayfield that was damaged in the same tornado.
“I love to bring things back to their original splendor,” Poynter said.
He also does custom doors with various beveled glass designs. One that he is currently customizing has beveled glass in the top of the door to let natural light in but keeps the privacy for most of the door.
“The owner still wants privacy but also likes the light,” he said.
The pandemic caused many glass artists to shutter or move into new jobs as construction dried up, with Poynter saying they “couldn’t live off nothing.”
Poynter was able to continue glass work because of his storefront, The Glass Factory, where he sells home goods and furniture. The name of the store was his father’s original business name, beginning in 1978. While his passion is the glass work, he enjoys ordering pieces that are original or look distressed for customers to peruse.
“I enjoy being hands-on,” he said. “I like to design and I like to cater to people.”
This has served Poynter well in working with people from all over the country. He did the windows for First Christian Church after a fire and was able to look at the colors of the new church first.
“I found the flow – it’s more modern but not a modern-style church,” he said.
Stained glass enthusiasts often contact Poynter to rehab pieces, and he recently had a piece of his father’s — a dome — given to him through an estate. That piece is now going in a home in Boston where, it will be the centerpiece of a library.
Poynter, who has worked jobs outside of glass, enjoys the solitary work of creating the focal points most.
“God had other plans,” he said of his time not creating.
To see more images of the window, click here.
