Do you have drawers, boxes, or shelves full of keepsakes, trinkets, and sentimental objects you can’t bear to part with — but don’t know how to display? For many people, these little treasures, or as Dee refers to them, 'Gathered Curiosities', stay hidden away, gathering dust, instead of telling the stories they hold.
That’s exactly the problem artist Dee Gray set out to solve with her online course, Gathered Curiosities: The Art of the Glass Cloche. By teaching students how to transform everyday objects and meaningful keepsakes into elegant displays under glass, Dee helps turn clutter into beauty and memory into art.
Before this course:
- Precious keepsakes hidden in drawers and boxes
- Flea market finds with nowhere to go
- A longing to display treasures, but no idea how
- Inspiration… but no clear direction
After this course:
- One-of-a-kind cloche displays that tell your unique story
- A beautiful way to celebrate memories, heirlooms, and found objects
- The skills to create seasonal, thematic, or decorative cloches with ease
- Confidence in transforming ordinary items into extraordinary art—whether for gifts or your personal collection
What you will learn inside:
- How to select and style glass domes in various shapes and sizes
- Four creative cloche building approaches, from florals to layered narrative pieces
- Which adhesives work best for specific applications
- Dee's signature brass rod technique for elevating seashells and other treasures
- How to curate themes and add vintage details, and create harmonious compositions
- Technical tips on sizing vessels, assembling multi-level bases, and avoiding common frustrations
Students also receive:
📖 A detailed PDF with tools, materials, and resources
📸 A gallery of Dee’s finished cloches for creative inspiration
💡 A Q&A section in each segment of the course for guidance and support
This course is more than a lesson in display—it's an invitation to storycraft. It's about honoring the things you already love and giving them new life in timeless, conversation-sparking arrangements.
If you've ever wished you could turn your sentimental clutter into elegant, meaningful displays, Gathered Curiosities: The Art of the Glass Cloche is just what you’ve been waiting for.
Your Instructor
Dee Gray is an artist, designer, and storyteller whose creative life has been shaped by a passion for transforming gathered curiosities into meaningful works of art. With a background in graphic design and decades of experience as Creative Director of Boomerang Studios, Dee brings an intuitive eye for composition, color, and detail to everything she creates.
Her love of glass cloches stems from a lifelong fascination with preserving beauty, memory, and narrative. Sourcing both vintage and contemporary treasures, Dee reimagines each object into renewed presentations beneath glass—transforming forgotten pieces into timeless vignettes and personal storytelling displays.
For over 20 years, Dee has shared her passion through creative workshops across the United States and abroad, teaching collage, assemblage, painting, and distressing techniques. Her workshops inspire artistic communities and welcome students of all ages and abilities, encouraging them to trust their intuition, embrace playfulness, and rediscover their creative voice in a supportive, nurturing environment.
Dee also sells her original artwork and curated creations under the Gathered Curiosities brand in two boutique stores along the Delaware coast, where she resides and finds daily inspiration from the coastal landscape and its ever-changing light.
Whether leading an intimate workshop, designing a cloche composition, or developing her own collections, Dee views art as a conversation between memory and imagination—a way to honor the past while creating something beautiful for the present.
Course Curriculum
-
StartThe Art of the Glass Cloche: Tech Guide
-
StartFrom Dee’s Studio: Cloches to Inspire”
-
StartPDF Tools, materials and resources for download
-
StartCourse overview (0:23)
-
StartGathered curiosities (5:44)
-
StartFinding the perfect glass vessels (2:24)
-
StartAdhesive overview (1:15)
-
StartAdhesive overview
-
StartCleaning and adhering the glass cloche to the base (5:57)