'Music Maker'

Monday, Dec. 10, 2012

'Music Maker'

Here's a commissioned glass panel that incorporates a variety of glass forming methods: kiln-fired stained glass, laminated (UV glue) glass pieces, carved and painted details and sandblast etching/frosting along with the traditional leaded technique.

'Music Maker' (C. St. John 2012)

Created for a music making client and friend, we started with the idea of a 'musical theme' and developed the ideas from there. Beginning with the carved and painted musical notes (from the lower left to the upper right, mostly) I then worked in a more abstract idea of musical notation with 'dots and dashes' of kiln-fired stained glass (from the upper left to the lower right, mostly).

The clear/white 'background' areas are a clear glue-chipped glass with a mottled sandblast etching on the back surface. Representing the 'background' harmonics of multiple musical notes played or sung simultaneously, it also obscures the view beyond during the day with transmitted light and reflects surface light from the frosted areas at night.

'Music Maker' (night detail) (C. St. John 2012)

This night view detail shows the gold painted musical notes, the surface glued kiln-fired stained glass pieces on the streaky yellow glass and the mottled etching on the clear 'background' glass.

The bold bright colours are a departure from my usual pallet, but fit the client's desire for a strong visual impact in both colour and design.

Working with clients on commissioned pieces often stretches my design ideas, challenging me to find appropriate solutions to a particular site and client desires. The real challenge then, is to create a unique piece that fits the requirements and also reflects my own ideas of good design.