Art-A-Day Challenge: 30 Pieces in 30 Days!

I’ve been invited to take part in an invitational exhibit at the Columbia Center for the Arts in Hood River, Oregon during the month of May. Curated by Oregon artist Rachel Harvey and titled “Art a Day”, the exhibition challenges six artists to create thirty pieces of art in thirty days.

I’ve been experimenting with some new techniques that will lead to larger glass sculptures in the future. I think this challenge will be a good opportunity to explore color and shape in an intensive way and also develop ideas for larger work.

I’ve decided to make three groups of glass wall sculpture – ten pieces in each group, three different shapes & color concepts.  I probably will approach this challenge a little differently than a painter might, since the work will have to be fired at least three times before it’s done. But I’ll do the best I can and will see how close I can get to finishing in thirty days. Those 30 days might have a few spaces between them, here and there.

I'm a little afraid that my propensity for overdoing things is going to come around to bite me at some point. As much as I try to keep the sizes down, pieces just seem to grow - they want to be flamboyant and sprawl across the wall. Oh well, we deal with our character flaws the best we can. Hopefully there aren't villagers with torches in my future.

Here's a peek into the process. The photos are, from left to right, sifting broken glass (a by-product of stained glass manufacturing); laying the glass into a shape with lots of open spaces; and that glass shape after firing.

I have been working very hard to understand how glass behaves under heat and how that effects glass volume. I am absolutely crazy about the natural patterns that happen when the glass "puddles up" during firing. It reminds me of water puddles, lakes from the air, the coastline of Greece.

The initial puddle-y glass shapes for thirty pieces are done and I’ve started adding color to the eroded wheel-like shapes. I sift powdered glass over the initial form and then fire it to 1475 degrees in the kiln to melt the glass powder. The surface comes out looking like enamel on copper, an effect I confess I love. The base color of the glass shows around each hole. Here's an example, shown on the kiln shelf. As soon as all the wheel forms are finished, it will be time to bend and slump them, to give them shape.

I see that my painter friend, Lisa Foster, is blogging away about her participation. Pop over there and see how completing thirty paintings compares! I won’t be posting every day like her, but I’ll take photos of every step and will post the high points.

Back to the studio - more about this project very soon!

Steph