Functional Fused Glass!

Land Sea Sky

 This recent commission offered a unique opportunity to really exploit the properties of the medium of kiln-fired glass.

 The location is a small home in Huntsville.  Openings had been cut in interior walls to allow natural light to move through the home.  These “interior windows” open into the main living space from a bedroom and a bathroom, so the owners understandably wanted a solution that would provide privacy, look good from both sides, and still let the light flow.
 

Fused glass has a slightly “pebbled” surface on one side from being fired on a clay shelf in the kiln.  This subtle texture obscures the transparency of the glass, so for bathrooms especially, fused glass is an ideal window treatment.

The panels are 37 and 43 inches tall, and just 10 inches wide.  These are challenging proportions to design for. We decided on a beach theme for one piece, and Birches for the second.

For the beach theme I worked impressionistically, incorporated vitreous paint and chunks of glass for texture suggestive of cresting waves, watery depths, and an ambiguous horizon line blending into sky.

Spring Birches

I’ve done birch themed fused glass on many occasions, and each one has its own character.  I particularly like the cheerful Spring colours, and the texture in the birch bark, achieved with vitreous paint and frit.

Spring Birches detail

Apsley Autumn Studio Tour

In about a week I will be packing up my work and hitting the road for Apsley Ontario to exhibit at the Apsley Autumn Studio Tour.  This is an outstanding studio tour with many talented artists and artisans eager to open their studios and share their work with the public.   I am a regular guest artist at my friend Molly Moldovan’s painting studio, and I’m looking forward both to seeing her recent work and to meeting the many people who will be coming through the door on their own art adventure.

Pictured is my studio set up for my own recent studio tour, and a few pieces in the kiln awaiting their final firing before heading to Apsley. 

 My “Northern Lights” themed pieces are very popular. When completed,the ones below be free-standing art pieces in iron stands, like the pieces on the right in the image above.

in the kiln for "fire polish" firing

Finally, is a piece that I just composed but is not yet fired.  It will look completely different after it’s fired, ground, polished and mounted.  Meet me at studio “M”, September 16 & 17 and see how it turns out!

The Evolution of Ice...

This week I documented the development of a 17" square platter in various stages of production, partly to remember how I made it, and partly to share it with YOU!  People ask about what goes into my work.  Here goes...

This is a piece in the Ice Series, all of which, at this point anyways, represent forces moving against each other; compressing, fragmenting, creating colour, depth and stored energy.

Stage 1 – the point of “compression”, first drawn with “paint” (black powdered glass in a liquid medium) on a piece of clear glass, is further developed with powdered and crushed glass of different colours and sizes.

Stage 2 – more crushed and powdered glasses are added to my glass “canvas”.

Stage 3 – the addition of fine clear glass obscures the design below, and maintains a similar volume of glass in areas that will remain clear.

Stage 4 – various clear and white textured glasses are stacked on top, and the piece is placed in the kiln, ready to fire.

Stage 5 – Next day, firing complete!  Time to open the kiln and see what happened.

Stages 6, 7, 8 - You may notice distortion of the shape in that last image, caused by an uneven volume of glass where pieces have overlapped.  The lumpy bits will be ground off, then the edges belt sanded smooth, before placing the slab on a mold and firing it again.  This will give it a gentle curved shape.  You can’t see the transparent areas while it’s on the kiln shelf here, or appreciate the depth that is achieved by layering transparent and opaque glasses. 

The finished platter will be professionally photographed before being offered for sale, and I’ll post that another time!