Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Summer Art


I'm finally working on some new art. Here's a piece I call "Open Source". It is cast glass and wood, about 9" x 12" x 3". I decided to light up this one. My normal inclination is to never light up glass. Seems too obvious a thing to do. But for this one, I felt it wasn't overly gauche to try it.
This piece came together exactly as I wanted visionwise, and almost processwise. Most of the time visionwise there is at least one thing I forgot/fucked up, or a funny little number that our perverse universe threw in the mix that I had to compensate for. All the time processwise.
I stuck my hand in wet plaster just starting to set, held it until it set, and got exactly the right combination of fidelity/rough texture first time out. I could not have asked for a better mold.
The waxes formed off of this mold could not have been more cooperative.
Aside from some compatability problems with the glass, the colors and textures are pretty much as I wanted them. And I like the look and presentation of the piece as well. I'll had to drill and cut and hole in a wall and hardwire the electrical connections and patch the wall back up, but that was fun. All in all an enjoyable and satisfactory experience. Really not much more to say about this piece. I will say that the past two semesters have been irritating, as I've not had time to work on my own art. During the times when I should have worked, I had neither the energy nor the inclination to work. I suspect that I will regret not using the time in the future when I have precious little time left. On the other hand, I also suspect that any art I would have made would have suffered in quality. And then, during the times when I wanted to work, there have been far too many students who either needed the studio space or my assistance. How dare they get their money's worth!

3 comments:

  1. I've been in the same place. too busy with commission work to work on my own or totally uninterested in doing it when I had the time, plus having the shop basically dismantles...still. I'm ready though with some new stuff in my head.

    btw, I like this piece.

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  2. Thanks! I'll split my reply into modify the entry above and a response here. I'm afraid I can never sell this piece. I used Bullseye compatible glass in it. Pink powder sifted into the mold. White glass to cover as a base, and clear glass behind that. It has horrible internal cracks throughout, which means the stress is relieved, but... The firing schedule was very conservative. I've had nothing but problems casting with Bullseye white. The pity is, it makes a great background glass...

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  3. they have several whites and I know from talking to fusers that one of them is very problematic. The 'stiff' white maybe? I don't remember. You might try using the translucent white. And now they have those reactive whites.

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