When Mayor Manny Cid was knocking on doors and visiting neighbors during his recent campaign, he came across the home of longtime residents Joan and Ed Gansert. Invited to come in, Cid was in awe with the artwork around their home.
Almost like an art museum, the Gansert’s home is filled with all types of mediums of art, predominantly created by them.
One piece that stood out was the State of Florida in Stained Glass which now is currently on loan in the Mayor’s office at Town Hall.
According to Ed Gansert, the stained glass map of Florida hanging in the Mayor’s office is one of two that he has made, the other hangs in his daughter Joanie Graham’s home.
Hanging as an inverted L at 42 inches by 40 inches, the piece has all 67 counties and major lakes in Florida outlined with its own piece of glass, only five colors were used. The frame is made from Florida Cypress.
Completed in the ‘80’s, Gansert’s template began with a map that he received at a visitor center when driving into the state. Since the map did not have all of the counties outlined, he called upon his neighbor and friend, Jan Mannion, who was a history teacher and football coach at Hialeah Miami Lakes High School at the time.
Mannion was able to get access to Congressional maps for Gansert where he was then able to draw the exact county outlines by hand.
Gansert chuckled about his map research being “all before Google.”
Self-taught, outside of a few lessons to learn about the tools needed and where to purchase the glass, Gansert uses the Tiffany method which involves wrapping the pieces of glass with copper foil and soldering them together along the length of the seams.
He explains he uses this method because he is able to get more detail in the design work.
Working out of his garage in Miami Lakes, Gansert has completed many stained glass pieces with a favorite being his most challenging – a poisonous tree frog. Hard to believe that was more challenging than 67 counties and major lakes, all with their exact outlines.