Pet memories live on through Stones of Glass
Artist leaves corporate world, crafts portraits of deceased animals
BY KAREN E. BOWES
Staff Writer

Above, Leatrice Guttentag, owner of Stones of Glass, shows how she creates a pet headstone at her Middletown studio. Inset, one of Guttentag’s creations, Max the Bird.

MIDDLETOWN — How does a computer programmer become an artist? You start hanging out at dog shows.

“I thought I knew a lot about dogs until I met those people,” said Lee Guttentag from her garage art studio in Lincroft. “They really taught me about different breeds, their bone structure, ear size, snout size. So now I can create a better product.”

Once employed by a top financial firm on the 80th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center, Guttentag says she is through with the corporate game. She’s begun a brand-new career from the bottom up. Her new company, Stones of Glass, creates a tribute to deceased pets with one-of-a-kind grave markers and portraits made from cement and colored glass.

PHOTOSBY JERRY WOLKOWITZ staff

“When people ask me where I was on 9/11, they don’t believe me,” said Guttentag. “They think I’m lying. But I thought, ‘You know what? It’s time for me to try something else.’ It teaches you you’ve got to try.”

Escaping mere minutes before the North Tower collapsed, Guttentag seems to have lived a lifetime in the last four years. Still, she’s plowing forward with Stones of Glass, a business that has taken off, thanks in no small part to her extensive knowledge of animals, especially dogs.

Guttentag is the owner of two very large American mastiffs, and her love of canines comes through in her artistic interpretations.

She offers two basic products: the cement and stained glass stepping stone, ideal for outdoor use in a garden or walkway; and the glass etching, a portrait designed in Photoshop, then brought to life via an old-fashioned blasting machine.

“A lot of people don’t want to wait until their pet is deceased to memorialize them,” Guttentag said. “Especially if they like to garden, they like to have something special around them while they work.”

Her clientele has been varied, and everything from horses to hedgehogs have been translated onto glass.

“We do everything, all animals,” said Guttentag. “If it’s loved and wants to be immortalized, we’re happy to do it.”

Guttentag suggests checking out a sample of her work to get a better idea of what Stones of Glass is all about.

“It’s a nice, upscale product and a great way to celebrate your pet,” said Guttentag. “Our brochures are lovely but they don’t do justice to our product.”

Samples are on display at the Middletown Animal Clinic on Route 35 and at Sunriser Kennels in Jackson. Those interested can visit www.stonesofglass.com for a complete list of local participating veterinarians. To place an order, customers must go through their vet or a vet listed on the Web site.