Koyaanisqatsi-esque

At the end of a blustery February afternoon I was strolling through Expert Village and came across this encapsulation of creation by Chris Thompson. To me, it was reminiscent of the film Koyaanisqatsi by Godfrey Reggio. The soundtrack to this video wasn't by Philip Glass (now that would have been a happy coincidence), nor did the video give the sense of a 'life out of balance', which is what Koyaanisqatsi means in the Hopi language. Okay, so it seems it had very little in common with the movie, aside from time-lapse photography and atmospheric music. However, for a cursory view of the process of producing a stained glass panel, it not only illustrates the steps involved, but it takes you into the creative process, kinda like Eisenstein, ya know?

Sailboat Stained Glass Panel

Barb approached me for a panel to capture the time she and Ken and their kids spent on their sailboat. It was to be a Christmas present for Ken with a companion piece representing their life in Huron Woods to be a birthday present for him in February.

After trawling through images of sailboats on the net, I designed the piece using Glass Eye 2000, which easily allowed me to tweak the size and placement of the boat within the panel.

The folks at Sunrise Glass were, as usual, very knowledgeable and patient in helping me choose the glass and figuring out the amounts I would need.

I had Glen Baillie make the frames for both panels before I began, to minimize the chance I would finish the piece and find it didn't fit the frame, the external dimensions of which needed to be 53 centimetres.

The pieces are foiled with 7/32 black-backed foil, and I added a black patina to the solder to contrast with the bright, light colours of the glass.

Glass-on-Glass Mosaic

Attention span of a ... what was I saying?

I've been wanting to try this technique for a while, because I thought it would suit my enjoyment of creating quickly and spontaneously. And sho' 'nuf, it was a much more organic artistic process with the choice and addition of each piece influencing what happened next.

On top of this, it allows you to use up the small scraps we packrats are so loathe to discard.

I felt inclined towards macro flower images so surfed these for a while. Then I rifled through my various containers of shards and bits to come up with a colour and texture palette that talked 'perty' to me and to the image.

I glued the pieces onto a sheet of clear glass, (much teenier fingers than mine would have been handy at this stage!) and after the glue dried I grouted and framed.

Voilà!

Forest Panels

There are some great people in Huron Woods. In fact, the community is one of the most caring and supportive I've come across.

My neighbours, Gord and Josy Britton, asked me if I'd make them some panels for their entranceway. What a privilege, as Josy is a talented and well-known artist whose work I really love.

Drawing from the themes in Josy's work and our surroundings here in the woods, using tones that were vibrant and would fit with their interior environment, I designed a forest and lake scene. Gord and Josy asked if I could incorporate the nine-pointed star from the Baha'i faith, which appears in the upper left corner.

Yin and Yang in Nature

I made this for a Taichi group with an interest in things natural. It's copper foiled with a lead u-came frame and set in a wrought-iron stand.

front page news

Giddy as a schoolgirl, I, when my first treasury made the front page of Etsy...some fun and funky items from my list of favourites.

the eating of the green

On St Paddy's Day, retro-kitsch cuisine warms the cockles and replenishes your supply of FD&C yellow 5 and FD&C blue 1.
Sure, the popcorn looks a little like something you'd discover in the bottom of your fridge about 3 months later than you might have liked, but it brings out the kid in you. Sticking out your tongue is loads more fun when it's green.