Girl Interrupted Window Panel

Girl Interrupted Window Panel

Judy and Gary Ellis Residence
Minneapolis, Minnesota
May 2025
Commissioned architectural stained glass
Design: Malcom Potek
Fabrication: Potekglass

Sector: Residential
Technique: Leaded

Dimensions: 28 × 24 inches

Created for a neighborhood client, Girl Interrupted was designed to bring new energy to a small stairwell window overlooking a neighboring yard. The clients were drawn to the quiet brightness of mostly clear glass and beveled elements, giving Malcom a starting point for developing the design.

While looking for inspiration, Malcom visited the clients’ nearby Tudor Revival home, which led to an exploration of Tudor windows from the 1500s and the visual language of the period. That research eventually led to the work of Johannes Vermeer. Inspired by Girl Interrupted in Her Music, Malcom adapted the painting’s composition into a stained-glass design suited to the scale of the existing window and the available bevels.

The final piece combines clear glass, beveled elements, and small aqua marine glass jewels made in-house at Potekglass. The result is a playful interpretation of a historic painting translated into a contemporary residential window.

Girl Interrupted is a small-scale example of how an architectural commission can lead down an unexpected creative path—from a neighborhood stairwell, through Tudor architecture and Vermeer, and finally back to the glass shop.