The first question which springs to mind when studying illustrations of Vivienne Gardener's magnificent stained glass work in her new book is: "How on earth does she think of such wonderful designs?"

For they are not only breathtaking in concept and individuality but also incredibly rich in their combination of colours and patterns.

Whether reading the author's text or talking to her in person, the answer is quickly apparent: Here is an extraordinary talent and a very gifted artist, and the world is richer for both. Inescapable, too, is an awareness that, through her work, she has also created an indelible legacy for countless generations to behold and enjoy, hopefully for centuries to come.

Quietly proud of her work though she is, Mrs. Gardner it not one to speak in the first person about herself. Rather, she deftly keeps the focus on the art itself, explaining, revealing and pointing out the fascinating details of each creation. Her crisp English accent is business-like but warm and friendly, and whatever she tells you is overlaid with charm and delightful anecdotes – in fact, the very same formula she uses in the text of her book, 'The Stained Glass Art of Vivienne J. Gardner'.

To read its pages is to feel the presence of an old friend who is only too happy to sit down, perhaps over a cup of tea, and share her stories, her expertise, and her art with you, simply for the joy of doing so.

And what a tale Mrs. Gardner has to tell.

The opening words of chapter entitled 'In The Beginning' set the tone for all that follows.

"We are a family of squirrels – pack rats; we record and hang on to our lives passionately. So ... I have envelopes of 'Vivienne's Drawings' saved by my devoted mother'. The author then goes on to reveal that her grandfather was so impressed with a drawing she did of her pram at age two that he wrote: "... the drawing shows ... a precocious ability to realise form, and to interpret it on paper".

Thus occurred the first recognition of a talent which would go on to manifest itself in many forms, including painting, sculpture, calligraphy and bookbinding.

British-born Mrs. Gardner's family moved to Bermuda at the outbreak of the Second World War, where she attended the Bermuda High School for Girls. It being wartime, and with an absence of art classes, the child used cellophane and foil candy wrappers, fabric scraps and beach glass to decorate her work books, make toys and other things.

"My love of colours was an early joy," she comments.

Graduating with a Cambridge Higher School Certificate, the then-Vivienne Gilmore began her formal art training with sculptress Byllee Lang, who successfully encouraged her eager student to enroll in the excellent Cooper Union Art School in Manhattan.

Overwhelmed initially, the young woman ultimately thrived as a much wider world of art opened up to her. With her scavenging nature intact, she also rescued some stained glass panels from a church under demolition and dragged them home on a holiday flight.

Returning to Bermuda after her graduation, Mrs. Gardner met and married her husband Jim, an architect.

The couple spent many happy hours working together in their home studio while raising their three children: John, Geoffrey and Susan.

The acquisition of a small kiln fostered the artist's further experimentation in stained glass.

"All I had in the way of instructions on how to paint and fire the glass was a copy of a 12th-century treatise by the monk Theophilus. It was fascinating reading, but not much help as his advice was to use honey and urine to bind the paints!" Mrs. Gardner writes in her typically sprightly fashion.

It is in the next chapter, 'In the Studio', that one learns just how long and exacting the process of creating a stained glass window or panel from start to finish is, but it makes fascinating and impressive reading.

"Creation is the making of relationships out of chaos" is how the author sums up her work.

And yes, scavenging and packratting are sometimes integral, for it is during walks that the artist has found the much-prized cobalt blue glass used by the manufacturers of Noxema and Optrex, the tawny gold of beer bottles, and even the remnants of shattered windscreens. Virtually nothing is wasted, but sensibly stored in orderly fashion.

Occupational hazards, such as nicks, cuts and glass splinters, are ever-present in her studio, hence a ready supply of Band-aids, and on one occasion the services of the nearby hospital. The artist's ingenuity in inventing devices which work particularly well for her also have to be used carefully.

While there are endless reasons to marvel at Mrs. Gardner's industry, physical strength and philosophical attitude, phrases like "the mind-wrenching process of pulling something new into consciousness. Creation does not always flow easily" are timely reminders that hers is a demanding and arduous art which is not without pain. Yet she says, "I am never happier than when I am working hard in my studio".

Certainly, the fruits of her labours are legion, and can be found in large numbers in churches both here and abroad, including our Anglican Cathedral, St. Paul's and St. Anne's, as well as many private homes. Subject matter ranges from the biblical to the botanical, avian, acquatic and abstract.

It is in reading the relevant text to each illustration that one gains the greatest sense of just what this indefatiguable artist undergoes in the process of creation. To depict the Kaaterskill Falls, for example, involved scrambling over rocks with sketch pad and paints to first capture their grandeur on paper. Then there was the mea culpa issue of a church window installed backwards, which had to be taken out and reinstalled, and the "stomach-sickening calamity" when she broke one of the most important pieces in a window just three days before it was to be installed and dedicated at St. Andrew's church.

A hasty, overnight trip to New York ensued where, with her sister's help in lining up new glass and an elusive acid, Mrs. Gardner successfully made the replacement piece and returned home in time for everything to proceed as scheduled. In fact, the elders were so impressed that they paid half of her air fare.

Naturally, through years of experience in dealing with all manner of clients, the artist has developed a fine sense of diplomacy and, in the current vernacular, can turn lemons into lemonade. In one instance, a client's rejected design proved to be another's delight.

In another, something of significance to the client but aesthetically out of whack artistically was cleverly positioned in such a way that both were satisfied. Even a challenge of "forcing one's art to imitate someone else's" was successfully met. Rarely does Mrs. Gardner refuse a commission outright, and then only for valid reasons.

As wide-ranging and diverse as her work is, it is obvious from her book that church windows not only form a major part of her creativity, but also that her religious knowledge is deep and sound, and her research both careful and thorough. While she is a regular church goer and choir member at the Anglican Cathedral, when asked how and where she had acquired such a thorough understanding of the Bible, her response is prompt: "At the Bermuda High School. They taught us Scripture very well."

The fact that this took place more than half a century ago speaks volumes for Mrs. Gardner's memory, which is as sharp as the tools with which she works.

The pentultimate photograph of the final chapter is of a work in progress – surely a metaphor for the artist's life.

In the Conclusion, the myriad colours of light filtering through her stained glass window onto the blue carpet of the chapel at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital is accompanied by her expressed hope that similar light "may communicate the wonders of all God's creation".

As with everything she undertakes, Mrs. Gardner's book is immaculately conceived and executed, with a gratifying attention to detail – thanks in part to the invaluable assistance of her two nieces in New York, Cathy and Robin Gilmore-Barnes, who did the design and digital image work respectively.

Far from being another coffee table book, this volume is intended to become a collector's item since only 1,000 have been printed, hence the high quality of its production. Published by Woodhaven Studios, Bermuda, with a Foreword by Dr. Charles Zuill, it is printed on thick stock, its pages glowing with rich, full colour, and bound in elegant grey cloth with gold embossing. Indeed, 'The Stained Glass of Vivienne J. Gardner' is as fine a fulfillment of her children's request to create something for posterity as one could wish for.

Now available at The Bermuda Book Store, the Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art, the Anglican Cathedral Bookshop, and Robertson's Drug Store in St. George's, the 109-page book retails for $75 per copy.

The author will be present to sign copies of her book at the Bermuda Book Store tomorrow from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.; on Sunday at the Anglican Cathedral from 11.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m., and at Masterworks on November 29 during its 'One Stop Shopping' event.