Welcome Suzette Bos to the Gallery Glass Artists' Circle

"I accidentally stumbled across Gallery Glass about 10 years ago in a craft store.  I was looking for a stencil pattern and found a collection of products which included some pattern books.  There was a beautiful pattern for a paladian window  design.  Although the window I had was square and much larger, my mind immediately began calculating how to duplicate the pattern and make it work.  This is the resulting window.  It was about 45 inches square and was above my master bathroom jetted tub.  Although this was on the third floor of our home, nobody wants a window that large with a completely unobstructed view above their bathtub!!!  GG was the perfect answer…light, bright, beautiful and PRIVATE!"

"We sold that house a few years ago and bought a ‘fixer-upper’ in a different suburb of St. Louis.  We’ve been slowly plowing thru the immediate ‘must do’ projects and finally I saw an opening for a ‘want to do’.  Our kitchen has a breakfast nook with a bay door and two windows.  It is very bright, lots of unobstructed light comes through but the door is metal (no curtains).  For awhile we had sheers on a magnetic rod (YAWN!!!) and then, I remembered GG.  The house has simple basic lines, lots of maple wood and we’ve decorated with earth tones, so I needed something with clean lines and neutral tones that we’d want to look at A LOT!  You spend so much time in your kitchen.  My husband and I talked about it and he came up with the idea of how clean Frank Lloyd Wright’s designs were." 

"When we searched online, we found a number of window designs by the artist.  I printed many of them and studied each for the elements we found interesting.  I sketched out the basic center door design and got to work.  With my ruler and a sharpie, I drew my design right onto the glass.  I used other items from my kitchen as well – the red circle began as one of our dinner plates, etc… Once that was done, I used Redi-Lead to follow the sharpie lines and sealed the joints with liquid lead.  That was about it for day one.  On the second day I began the painting.  I started with the darkest colors, spacing them out and taking stock after every area was filled.  I needed some of the colors to dry to really get a feel for continuing, so the coloring process took about a week.  Once the door was complete I knew where I wanted to go with the windows.  In order to keep the entire project from becoming too busy (there’s a lot going on here), I made the two side windows mirror images of each other. I began by carrying through the ‘ribbon’ idea that began at the bottom of the door and moves up and to the right.  It picks up in the right side window and arcs up, touches in at the top and moves across to the left window.  Ultimately this ribbon ties all three panes together creating a movement throughout the trio and joining the design.  Mirroring the side windows made it quick work to lead them.  I did each element on the right and then on the left, insuring that I utilized the same measurements and shapes.  Painting them followed the same process.  Before I knew it, the project was completed.  About 30 hours, design to finish."

"After completing this, I’m eager to get started on the other projects I’ve thought of – we have three other metal exterior doors that have window insets, after all.  I wouldn’t want them to feel slighted….Plus my husband has dreams of his family crest, in Gallery Glass, in all its glory somewhere in the house.  I wouldn’t want to disappoint him.   What a wonderful product and a great accent to my home!  I’m so glad I discovered it."

(Carol) I guess some of you have figured that Suzette probably isn't a typical crafter. Most would start with a small project and "work up". Suzette is an educated professional with a high degree of organizational ability (obviously), but even though it helps--it's not an essential element being able to accomplish a similar project in your home.  But you won't EVER do it, if you don't start. I think that it says a lot that her very first project was a 45" square window over the tub. It proves that Gallery Glass really is beginner FRIENDLY. However, Suzette includes this caption at the bottom of her emails. I think it probably gives you an idea of WHY she is so successful in accomplising her goals.  "Diamonds are only chunks of coal, that stuck to their jobs" --Minnie Richard Smith 

On a side note, I think I know the paladian window that may have inspired Suzette's bathroom project. I remember it well because it was a window in my master bedroom at another residence. The design elements are somewhat similar. The truth is, I was inspired by the design on the door of the house in the wooden screen that I had in the corner. You can see it in the far right side of the picture. I thought it tied the room together in a unique way.