Huntsville Festival Artisan!

finished art, 2014

I am thrilled to be selected as the 2014 artisan for the Huntsville Festival of the Arts!  Each year the Festival board invites a different artist to produce artwork for use on the brochure and promotional materials.  I was excited to create an image that expressed the spirit of the festival; just the challenge I needed to kick start the year.

Almost instantly an impression of the image I wanted to make emerged in my mind’s eye; a joyful celebration bursting out of the Algonquin Theatre, into the Muskoka sky.  I began experimenting with different ways to achieve my vision in glass. 

I shot the theatre for reference

For colour, I used mostly crushed glass, called “frit”, in different grit sizes. This allowed me to blend colours rather than having distinct edges.  The heart is cut glass.  I experimented with glass paint to represent the theatre itself, but settled on cutting it from copper foil to achieve a more distinct, stylized silhouette.  Similarly the trees, representing the landscape surrounding Huntsville, are cut from copper foil.  I used mica powder for the white lines of the music staff floating up into the night air, and also in the water.  Mica was once mined in Huntsville, and my use of this material was a deliberate nod to the past.

first layer of the design

ready to fire!

Now that you know a little about what went into this year’s Festival image, I hope you have a chance to catch some of the fantastic performances planned for this summer!