‘rose-colored glasses’

By JAINE TREADWELL

Features Editor

Some people leave the world without making a mark. Ed Walter was not one of those people.

He will long be remembered for his bushy eyebrows, twinkling eyes and his genuine love and caring for people – and his artistic talents.

When those who knew "Mr. Walter" are no longer around, his mark will still be seen in the work he did. He left a legacy in glass and future generations will know him through his work.

This weekend, Walter’s work will be featured in a collector’s show at Adams Stained Glass Studio on Highway 231 south of Troy.

This will be the last opportunity for collectors to purchase a piece made by one of the pioneers in glass fusing.

Walter came to Troy State College in 1959 and quickly became one of the most popular professors on campus.

Charles Adams, owner of the studio, was a freshman at the college – a three-day, late coming freshman.

"Because I was late registering, they had to find somewhere to put me, so they threw me in Mr. Walter’s art class," Adams said, laughing.

Just like when B’rer Rabbit got thrown in the briar patch, Adams came out "smelling like a rose."

Walter so influenced him that art became a part of his life’s work. Adams is now one of the premier stained glass artists in the country, specializing in church windows and he gives all the credit to his mentor, Ed Walter.

"Ed was a great teacher and a great person. He had so many people who admired his work that we wanted them to have an opportunity to view his collection and buy the pieces they want," Adams said. "In cleaning out his studio, his family unpacked boxes of pieces they even forget he had. In all, we have about 600 pieces of his work, including his popular watermelon and white fern pieces and a bunch of the newest and last pieces he did."

Adams said there were pieces in Walter’s kiln waiting to be fired when he died.

"Those pieces haven’t been fire, but they will be one day," he said. "However, they probably will not be offered for sale."

Adams said even those who are not collectors of Walter’s art will want to attend the show because it will be the last opportunity to see an exhibition of the work of one of the pioneers of glass fusing.

"Very few people were doing that kind of art back in the 1950s and ’60s," Adams said.

"Ed was always coming up with something different and this is the last opportunity to see the different techniques and styles of his work."

The Ed Walter Collectors’ Show will open at 10 a.m., Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. It will close at 5 p.m. each day.