Client: Cathy Fosnot

Overview

To create a custom stained glass window for clients master bathroom.

Goals

The client renovated an old beach house into her living dream space, with a considerable amount of custom work throughout.

The theme for the stained glass in the master bath was bamboo, designed to create a sense of peaceful tranquility. The challenge was to discover the perfect palette of glass that would bring together the colors and textures in the bath and master bedroom. The colors needed to be light enough to glow in a soft northern exposure, and opaque enough to give privacy from the neighbors house just 15 feet away. Bamboo Moon was made to fit exactly into the existing window above the bath.

We choose an iridescent glass that is very subtly alive as the light of day changes, and is radically different at night when interior light is on.

The client also wanted something with depth and dimension. I created that feeling by having many layers of leaves in the bamboo, so in places glass leaves are mounted on other leaves creating a “canopy”.

The many challenges to design and make something to transform the bathroom into a spa sanctuary could only be achieved with a custom, original work of art.

Process

The collaboration was directly between the artist and the homeowner. It started with a simple open-ended-dreaming-out-loud conversation to discover the feeling the client wanted to have while lying in her jacuzzi, and a guided visualization to tease out details that could inform the design. We had many studio and site visits to select the appropriate glass for the project. This was no small feat as the client is also a painter with a great sensitivity to the subtlety of color and how it would bring together the neutral colors of the tile and stone in the bath with the colorful paintings in the bedroom.

Once we agreed on the theme of bamboo, the quality of peace & tranquility, and color palette, the client gave me free reign to create something spectacular for her. I gave her occasional updates with pictures of the work in progress. She came for a studio visit as it was nearing completion, and burst into tears when she saw it, it being more beautiful than she had imagined.

Additional Information

Quoting the client: "Eileen was amazing to work with. At once she understood how I wanted it to feel like a spa--a place to relax and wash away the intensity of my work world. I'll never forget the day she installed it! It's beauty and the way it transformed the space took my breath away. The space became a prism of light, with bamboo images reflecting everywhere in the room. At night the window totally changes. The glass glistens and shimmers. The moon becomes a silvery white, and it seems that the room is bathed in moonlight. It's gorgeous!"