One of the best things about large-scale, architectural glass commissions is that it allows us to grow as artists, both in design and technique. This piece is for a client who wanted us to design a piece of glass inspired by Georgia O'Keeffe's 1922 painting, "Purple Flowers". We created at piece of glass 28" wide and 46" tall that involved hand-cutting and grinding a glass design layer (placed on a glass base layer) that was then accented by applying glass frits and powders. We are very excited that this piece will be gracing a residence here in Birmingham, and absolutely LOVE the idea of glass panels inspired by iconic pieces of artwork.
Glass rocks!
We are exploring creating organic shapes and forms here at The Glass Studio. Specifically, we are casting glass "rocks" based on the natural shape of amethyst geodes. The process begins by taking a silicone negative mold from the original geode, then casting a silicone positive, which is way more flexible than the actual rock! From there, the silicone geodes are cut into distinctly non-organic shapes, in this case, we are making heart-shaped geodes, from which a high-fire refractory plaster negative mold is created. Then, we select glass colors, fill the plaster mold with glass, fire to 1500 degrees and, 24 hours later, we have a unique, one-of-a-kind glass rock form unique to our studio. Glass truly does rock!
We love our Glowing Glass Tiles!
We are so excited about our first glowing glass tile installation in our friend Vero Vanblaere's kitchen. Vero owns Naked Art Gallery here in Birmingham, and being part of her artful home is truly an honor. We made the tiles from different shades of Aqua glass, cutting some from sheet glass and casting others from glass frit of the same color, creating various effects in each individual tile. Our fellow artist, Charity Ponter, graciously photographed them in ambient light and then in the dark, showing their glowing to full effect. We love the idea that glass tiles can add color and design to a room during the day, and then create an entirely different effect when the lights are turned out. We truly love our glowing glass tiles!