Marlene Zullig is a local award-winning artist who has been working with stained glass and metal for more than 30 years. But her inspiration - and the namesake of her business - date back even farther.

Marlene named her business, Martin Story Designs, after her two grandmothers, Evelina Martin and Rosanna Story. Evelina was a true Renaissance woman who could hand-make anything. She was a master quilter and could create a dress or gown simply from a mental image. Rosanna, Marlene’s other grandmother, was the person who always encouraged her to reach beyond providing Marlene an immense amount of inspiration.

Marlene likens stained glass to hand-quilting in that each piece is individually cut out and pieced together to form beautiful art. She says she used to watch her grandmother make beautiful quilts from scraps of material, and she connects with her by working with stained glass in the same way.