Mirror, Mirror…

Today I am looking at an amazing, detailed mirrored ceiling.

Mirror, Mirror on the…wait.  This mirror is not on a wall, it is on a ceiling! 

The mirrored ceiling in the Chehel Sotoun Pavillion in Isfahan, Iran is absolutely beautiful.

Mirrored Ceiling, Chehel Sotoun

I bet this ceiling is even more amazing to see in person.

IT IS FRIDAY!!!

I had a very hectic week, this week.  I worked all week and I think I got further behind than I was at the start of the week. 

I need a mentor.  Someone who can guide me through tricky business decisions. A seasoned advisor in the world of e-commerce…

I wish you good fortune this weekend.  I see many happy and prosperous times in your  future!

I’ll see you back here on Monday!

Patricia

 

The Structure Of Love Is Indestructible

Dear Looking At Glass readers,

Ahem…I need your full attention today.  This is very important.

Today, I am asking for your consideration of a Kickstarter campaign, The Structure of Love Is indestructible.

Lifting the four 10′ etched glass pieces into place for a visual test. “The Structure of Love Is Indestructible,” Image © Ross Matteson, 2013

The Structure Of Love Is Indestructible by Olympia, Washington sculpture, Ross Matteson, started out as a smaller sculpture created in 2001 to honor the hundreds of victims of 9/11.  Since then, the sculpture has grown in meaning and in size.  Ross is creating a new version of the sculpture to include 2 glass towers and will debut the sculpture in honor of all victims of tragedy September 11-15, 2013.

Ross viewing the newly etched glass. “The Structure of Love Is Indestructible,” Image © Maia Erickson, 2013

According to Ross, “I realized that in the face of any challenge, filling my thought with what was true and good about people had always been a catalyst for good communication, creative problem solving, and healing. This was an empowering message that I felt should be shared.”

Technical rendering of 2013 “The Structure of Love Is Indestructible,” Image © Ross Matteson/Mike Rathke, 2013

The glass panels being put into a crate prior to tempering process. “The Structure of Love Is Indestructible,” Image © Ross Matteson, 2013

Here is a video to describe the project:

Show Your Support!

I need to raise at least $16,000 to finish and debut a monumental version of a glass and steel sculpture titled The Structure of Love Is Indestructible (The Structure of Love). This sculpture expresses an uplifting perspective and counters the typically sensational response to tragedies such as 9/11.

I am asking you to join me and donate to Ross’ campaign.  So, how hard would it be to skip a coffee or glass of wine and donate to this worthy project?  Even better, donate what you would spend on a fine meal!

Please, I am asking you to help me share and support this worthy project by:

1. Make a donation to Ross’ Kickstarter campaign
2. Tell your friends about this campaign
3. Write a blog post about this campaign on your blog
4. Add the campaign to your Facebook page
5. Tweet a link to the Kickstarter campaign
6. Set up a donation box at your business or place of gathering.

Hurry! The campaign will be ending on September 1, 2013.   You only have 10 more days to make a difference.  Donate today and support Ross in sharing love for all victims of tragedy around the world.  Together, we can help Ross meet his goal!

Thank you,

Patricia

Grouping Salvaged Stained Glass Windows

Today I am looking at grouping salvaged stained glass windows.

Add to my to-do list…start collecting salvaged stained glass windows for display.

 

 

Playing Catch Up

Today is a day for playing catch up.

C.L. Chappell Website

Yesterday, I published a blog post featuring C.L. Chappell and I forgot to include a link to C.L.’s website.  The post has been updated and I am including a link here, today.

Helen Stolyarenko

I wanted to let you know that I have been in contact with Helen Stolyarenko.  I first wrote about Helen and her friend, Sasha, in a three-part blog post, A Summer in the USA – Part 1, A Summer in the USA – Part 2, and A Summer in the USA – Part 3.

When Helen returned home to Russia, she sent us a new blog post, THE FIFTH RUSSIAN TRIENNALE OF ART GLASS 2011.

After that blog post was published I tried occasionally to get in touch with Helen but, I never received a response to the emails that I sent.  Last week I received an unexpected email from Helen!  She told me that she found my previous emails in her Spam folder.  I can relate to that.  I was happy and relieved to hear from Helen and to know that she was happy and well.

While I lost contact with Helen, she did not lose contact with the USA.  Helen informed me that “Last summer I really had a new incredible glass experience: I spent 6 weeks at Pilchuck glass school as a flatshop intern.  She sent a pdf file about her experience: about Pilchuck 2012!

Helen says “This year I’ve quited the job in the Academy (which was to look for international glass contacts for the school), go on with my postgraduate study in art glass: this june I’ve passed the exams that are called “the candidate minimum” here. This is what you need in Russia, besides the dissertation work, to get the PhD degree in art, – its like a half-way to the PhD level.”

So, what is Helen doing for her summer vacation this year?  “This summer I decided to take a break in my USA journeys, and spending my time at the seaside in Crimea (in South Ukraine at the Black sea). It’s a kind of a creative resort to me, where I can both enjoy the sea and great nature with my boyfriend and do my creative work, draw, think over the plans.”

Helen Stolyarenko enjoying a summer holiday in Crimea

I love Helen’s adventurous spirit and I look forward to hearing from her again, soon.

Glass Skate Decks

Today I am really stoked to be looking at glass skate decks.

UPDATE:  This post was updated to include a link to C.L.’s website

I recently had a chance to look at the custom glass skate decks that are made by Louisville artist, C.L. Chappell.  C. L. tells me, “I’m not really a glass artist,  I’m a painter/muralist but I got a job working around glass and naturally started to create with it. Having skated most of my life it made sense to create something that had such a positive impact on my life.”

According to C.L., “These decks have the exact shape, pop and concave as a wood deck, they are fired in a kiln at about 1400 degrees and slumped onto a custom mold. The imagery is a powdered glass frit which is sifted out of a screened cup kind of like the way a
Monk would do a mandala. I then mask off the back, cut designs and sandblast them and spray paint the back side adding depth to the front. Then I put a light behind them they act as wall lamps.”

Gnarly.

Chappell tells me that “The subject matter itself is about things or sub-cultures losing their purity due to commercialism or mainstream attention or what have you. I often see kids skating today and wonder if they got the same feeling of joy that I did when I first ollied (jumped with the board) or is it just an image or appearance thing for them.”

Used To Be Pretty Series, Glass Skateboard Deck, C.L. Chappell

Used To Be Pretty Series, Glass Skateboard Deck, C.L. Chappell

Used To Be Pretty Series, Glass Skateboard Deck, C.L. Chappell

Used To Be Pretty Series, Glass Skateboard Deck, C.L. Chappell

Endangered Dude Series, Glass Skateboard Deck, C.L. Chappell

Endangered Dude Series, Glass Skateboard Deck, C.L. Chappell

Endangered Dude Series, Glass Skateboard Deck, C.L. Chappell

Endangered Dude Series, Glass Skateboard Deck, C.L. Chappell

Endangered Dude Series, Glass Skateboard Deck, C.L. Chappell

Endangered Dude Series, Glass Skateboard Deck, C.L. Chappell

Endangered Dude Series, Glass Skateboard Deck, C.L. Chappell

Indian Summer

Today I am looking at Katja Gruetter’s Indian Summer Sculpture.

The weather is changing here in North Carolina.  Suddenly, as if overnight, it is cool in the evenings and early mornings.  It makes me think of the Fall season.  Indian Summer by Katja Gruetter is the perfect display of the coming season.

Indian Summer, Katja Gruetter, Saatchi Online

IT IS FRIDAY!!!

Yeah, that’s right, I’m feeling like a super hero this week.

After months of blood, sweat, and tears…okay, maybe not tears. Well okay, not much blood, either.  Let’s start over.

After lots and lots of sweat, swearing, and stress, we finally launched a new website for The Glass Market.  Boy, am I glad that’s done.  I’ve been jumping up and down and doing my best super hero imitation all week.

Of course, the site will be current for let’s see…exactly one nanosecond? Maybe I am not such a super hero after all.

Life in the virtual world can be a real Dream killer, at times.

I hope you have a less stressful weekend.  Why don’t you relax, have fun,  and have do  your best super hero imitation.

I will see you back here on Monday.

Patricia

This Glass Bowled Me Over

Today I am looking at beautiful glass bowls by Ann Alderson Biba.

I received the latest flash gallery news from Artful Home yesterday.  The current gallery is titled, Hot Glass In The North Woods.  While drooling over all of the art glass, I fell in love with the glass bowls made by Ann Alderson Biba.

Biba’s’ forms are created by first blowing a hollow sphere of glass. Sandblasting allows her to remove unwanted areas to create dynamic and often realistic structures. Finally, colors are hand painted and fired onto the vessels.

-Artful Home

Luna, Ann Alderson Biba, Artful Home

Luna, Ann Alderson Biba, Artful Home

Monarchs Bowl, Ann Alderson Biba, Artful Home

Monarchs Bowl, Ann Alderson Biba, Artful Home

It’s Raining Cats and Dogs, Ann Alderson Biba, Artful Home

Shoe Bowl, Ann Alderson Biba, Artful Home

Thick Glass Lighting

Today I am looking at thick glass lighting designed by Lianne Gold.

I couldn’t decide if I would refer to Lianne Gold’s lighting as blocks of ice or glass bricks.  Either way. I like the texture that is offered in Lianne’s lighting collection at Ralph Pucci International.

Lianne Gold studied art and served her sculpture apprenticeship under the direction of John Waddell in Sedona, Arizona. In 1996, she opened Neptina in Venice Beach, Ca., a shop that specialized in mid-century design. As the shop evolved, so did her passion for glass, specifically the work of 20th Century Italian masters. With an extensive collection of mid-century glass as her muse, Lianne decided it was time to combine her love of glass with her design sense and develop her own collection. In 2009, Lianne began to see her dream come true. Her designs are super in scale, simple, organic in form and detailed with intricacies that pay tribute to the Italian masters that have been her inspiration. Lianne Gold joined Ralph Pucci in 2010.

–Ralph Pucci International

Clear Glass lamp; Bronze, Lianne Gold

Grande Ciclo (Big Sky), Lianne Gold

Glass Sconce, Lianne Gold

Glass Sconce, Lianne Gold

Ghiaccio Sopra (Ice From Above), Lianne Gold

 

Stained Glass Windows Are In Need of Rescue

Today I am watching a video, Glass, by Shaun Anderson.

Glass is a presentation featuring the stained glass windows at Old West Kirk in Greenock, Scotland.  The church is no longer used and the fate of the stained glass windows is unknown.

I hope that these stained glass windows will be rescued and find a new place to show all of their glory.

glass from Shaun Anderson on Vimeo.

What a Difference a Day Can Make

The sun has set on another fabulous family “Beach Week.”

What a difference a day can make.

I would like to tell you that I am one of those people who just can’t wait to get back to work.

NOT!  I spent the past 24 hours trying to figure out a way to write this blog every day with my feet in the sand.  Beachy dreams.

A good thing about coming home was snapping a few pics at the Florida Craftsmen Public Art Exhibition at the Tampa International Airport.  This glass art cheered me up while I waited for my flight back to North Carolina.

On display is the work of over 60 artists ranging from jewelers to glass blowers, from wood turners to mosaic artists. The video documents artists creating work and provides a peek into the gallery.

The exhibition will be on display from March through August. Many thanks to the Tampa International Airport for providing the opportunity to highlight St. Petersburg and Florida Craftsmen.

– Florida Craftsmen

Thanks to the Florida Craftsmen for sharing beautiful artwork with Tampa International Airport visitors!