Beautiful Stained Glass Creations

I love stained glass! It's so pretty in a window with the sun shining in. Gail's Glass Garden is a new shop on Etsy with some truly beautiful stained glass pieces. Take a look - you might find something you like :) Christmas is coming!!

*Where are you from? Tell us a bit about yourself.
I presently live in a small suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. I have lived all over the United States as my father was in the Air Force and we moved a lot when I was younger. I was originally born in Biloxi, Mississippi and some of my family still lives on the Gulf Coast. They have endured the Hurricane Katrina disaster and now are dealing with the effects of the BP Oil spill. I will be visiting them in October for my mother's birthday.

*How did you decide on your shop name? Why did you start your business?
I wanted something with my name in it and "glass" since that is my passion. One day, it just came to me, "Gail's Glass Garden". I thought it was original. I want to expand my glass work to fusion and other forms of glass work in the future.

*What or who inspires you?
My mother and my sister. My mother, because she started me in glass work at a very young age. We took ceramic classes together when I was in jr. high school and I continued to do ceramics off and on as time went by. My sister, because she started in stained glass and it was something I had always wanted to do. I began making stained glass items after she sent me a small panel as a Christmas present.

*What are 5 things you want people to think when they see your product?

• Quality product
• reasonable price
• beautiful
• artistic
• creative

*What’s your supply addiction; is there a specific color or type of supply you just can’t pass up?
Oh, this is easy. There is a glass supply shop about three hours from my home and so I only go there a few times a year but it is such fun. It is like going to a grocery store of glass. I just love going there, looking at the different colors and textures of glass. I can't choice one specific color because there are so many different choices. This supplier carries all kinds of stained glass supplies as well as other glass craft supplies. I order from this same supplier online, but nothing is like going there are seeing the different types of glass in person.

*What do you do when you’re not being an artist? What activities do you enjoy?
I have grandchildren that I enjoy being with. They are 4, 2 1/2 and 2. They are amazing to watch grow and I just love to spoil them. I have a German Shepard mixed breed dog. I enjoy taking him for walks and he loves to swim in Lake Erie. He is so big that he looks like a bear in the water when he is swimming. I also enjoy making quilts and cross stitch. The one reason I like glass work is that I can see the results a lot quicker. A quilt usually takes me about a year to finish. A nice stained glass panel will only take a month. I find that any type of detailed work relaxes me.

*Which item in your shop did you enjoy making the most and why?
The "Three Iris" panel is one of my favorite. I just like the color choices and think it came together beautifully.