Well, after a long couple of weeks I am spending another exciting Saturday night posting to my blog site. Please don't be jealous of my life! hahaAbout 9 months ago a wonderful couple called and asked to have a glass piece created for their front door. We met and discussed some of their favorite types of art and one artist in particluar that they were extremely fond of was Wassily Kandinsky. Being a Kandinsky lover myself I was immediately intrigued. Over the course of several months and "many" drawings and renditions we arrived at the design that you see to your left.
Now, the initial plan was to make this piece in a traditional stained glass format (copper foiled or leaded) with a few fused pieces to make it more interesting. As we processed through the design (their two wonderful children were also involved as they did the initial "coloring in" of the design) we were struggling with how to make the fused elements be best incorporated into the traditional stained glass window. After much thought process I offered to see if they would be willing to take a chance on making the entire piece one fused glass element.
I say offered as it is a rather large piece (27" x 32") and would just barely fit in the kiln. I had never attempted a piece that large and with that many complex design elements in fused form. After our collective bravery was committed to, we began the process. Colors and textures were chosen for each of the elements and I began cutting and fitting together the glass. It ends up being much like a puzzle in that everything has to fit as close to perfectly as possible. My motto always is, "the better it goes in the kiln, the better it comes out". David and Laura were extremely patient through the process, which included numerous modifications of color and deciding how many firings we would have to do to accomplish the design. The initial firing would tack fuse the pieces together and squeeze out as many air bubbles as possible between the layers of glass ( up to about 1250 degrees), then a second firing was done to completely fuse the elements to become one large piece of 27" x 32" glass. See the picture to the right on top. All set and ready for the first firing! David and Laura made a special trip over to the studio for the "closing of the kiln". Of course, prayers were offered up to the "Glass Gods"!
As I sit here writing this the piece is going through it's 3rd firing. We decided to add specific design elements that would be tack fused onto the large piece to give it more depth and interest. Tomorrow morning when I open the kiln, I'll have finished the piece that took many months to create and bring to fruition. With fingers crossed and more prayers offered, the hope will be a collaborative effort that is satisfying to Laura, David and myself!
I promise to post a pic of the final piece. We will then create a wood frame for the piece that will match their front door and install within the next several weeks.
Collaboration is not always the most time efficient way to create art, but I truly believe it to be one of the most exciting. We bow to Wassily Kandinsky for his inspiration and the amazing art that he has offered the world!
Stay tuned =)
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