The holiday spirit shines in Garland thanks to the stained glass artistry of Tony Carrillo. At 88, Carrillo still devotes up to six hours a day to his passion. His Yuletide work includes two 11-piece nativity scenes, two wreaths, holly branches with berries, and a pair of praying hands, all in glinting glass in an array of hues and textures. The pieces are spread throughout Brookdale Club Hill, the senior living community where Carrillo resides and has a workshop in a hobby room.
The holiday artistry is a small sampling of the varied portfolio Carrillo has produced since taking a stained glass class on a whim after retiring from an executive career nearly 25 years ago. Having previously made furniture as a hobby, he quickly became fascinated by the creativity and meticulous handwork that stained glass requires.
Carrillo begins each piece by drawing a full-size design, making copies of it and creating two patterns. He sets one of those down to serve as the base of the work and using special scissors, snips the other into the design elements. He cuts the glass, which comes in colored sheets, around the paper pieces, grinds the edges, and solders the sections together using a specialized soldering iron and foil. “All of this work over the years has worn away the fingerprints on several of my fingers,” he said.
He believes the physical and mental challenges of creating stained glass art have helped keep him robust. “At 88, I am better at this than I ever have been, with the sight and strength to still do it,” he said. “Because I can do it and because stained glass brings so much pleasure to people, I will continue with it.”
Carrillo, who holds an annual sale of his work as a charity fund-raiser, is currently working on his next project, a set of five stained glass Texas flags, one for each building on Brookdale Club Hill’s campus.
Brookdale Club Hill is located at 1245 Colonel Drive, Garland. It is operated by Brookdale.
About Brookdale: Brookdale Senior Living Inc. is the leading operator of senior living communities throughout the United States. The company is committed to providing senior living solutions primarily within properties that are designed, purpose-built and operated to provide the highest-quality service, care and living accommodations for residents. Brookdale operates independent living, assisted living, and dementia-care communities and continuing care retirement centers, with approximately 1,077 communities in 47 states and the ability to serve approximately 105,000 residents as of Sept. 30. Through its ancillary services program, the company also offers a range of outpatient therapy.