Ocean(egg)raphy
Oct 19, 2008 • Public
Photo: The egg is in it's new temporary home, at Artisan Stained Glass ( http://artisanglass.us ) It would not have fit into my home studio, so I'm grateful for the workspace. It also gives people the opportunity to stop in and check up on my progress!
Photo: The 6' egg structure is delivered.
Photo: The egg is made of a styrofoam core, reinforced by rebar, and attached to a steel base. The "shell" is made of a thinset-type material over fiberglass mesh. It's solid as a rock, and weighs about 250# before the mosaic is added. An egg of this size has about 80 square feet of surface area.
Photo: Nautilus shell is cut out of iridescent stained glass. This will now be fired in a kiln, and slumped slightly to follow the curve of the egg.
Photo: The egg's title is "Ocean(egg)raphy. My client has gone with an underwater theme, and there will be many fun elements - shells, undersea creatures, and water elements. This is the first - a nautilus shell with swoops of current around it. First step: drawing the outlines, and painting the swoops, soon to be covered with tempered glass.
Photo: Tempered glass in place! The pigments have been protected by a spray-on UV protector to keep the paints from fading in the sun.
Photo: The beginnings of a drop of water into a pool. I've handmade the nuggets by fusing several transparent shades of green and blue glass in a kiln. I've added a bit of dichroic glass for sparkle, and also a fun newly-available element: glow-in-the-dark frit! They'll glow gently in the night!
Photo: One of the water drops completed. Most of the backgrounds will be done in various types of mirror to reflect the surrounding landscape and blue sky.
Photo: Lots of glow-in-the-dark bubbles. It's going to be the slightest bit tricky to fill in the backgrounds, but I really like the look.
Photo: Close up of one of the drops of water. I cut out the splash on a Taurus 3 ring saw.
Photo: Finally, I'm filling in a bit of the background. I really couldn't wait to start on this because it's the main area that will be made of mirror, and I wanted to see how it would look.
Photo: Close up of some of the watery waves. I'm using plain mirror, Spectrum Silvercoats, and various shades of stained glass.
Photo: As of mid-October, I've covered about 12 square feet. "Only" 68 or so to go!! In all fairness, though, the early stages go most slowly, as I had to order massive quantities of supplies, wait for them to arrive, get the design penciled in, plan the placement of the focal points, fuse a whole lotta bubbles and a nautilus, etc. The rest should move along at a faster pace.
Photo: A Leafy Sea Dragon (...or...really cool sea creature) to add to the underwater theme.
Photo: Close up of the waves.
Photo: Another closeup of tempered glass areas.
Photo: Finished a bit more, still WAAYYYY more to go!
Photo: The Leafy Sea Dragon in place. Not sure I like the bubble around him done in mirror. I may redo it today.
Photo: Leafy Sea Dragon has been redone with swirly white glass behind him. I like how he stands out a bit better now. When he's grouted it will look better, and he should stand out nicely.
Photo: I'm quite happy with the seaweed my friend and helper Jim suggested.
Photo: Making more progress!!
Photo: keeping the momentum going
Photo: This is a big day! I've turned the egg around to expose it's naked backside, and have begun work on a "fountain" element. Depending on your monitor, you may be able to see it penciled in.
Photo: Partially complete - I like how the swirls around the fountain are looking.