OVAL CYLINDERS

The oval cylinders have been an ongoing series that combines several concerns all into a single piece of sculpture.  I wanted to design a small cast glass sculpture, unlike my huge forms, something that would be personal and intimate.  I wanted it to stand freely, no metal.  I wanted the internal space of the solid to be the focal point of creation.  A problem in changing the major focus of my work from internal space to geologic studies has been that still like the older idea.  I had a lot of material that was usable and perfect for smaller pieces.  I wanted them to stand solidly but still reach for the light.  The tapered oval shape fit those criteria.  Also important was in order to see details preserved from the original inclusions was that they be constructed horizontally.  I made some models and then open-face molds that allowed me to fill the interior space of the sculpture by filling the interior space of the mold.  Since the glass would melt down, a cup was added to the mold to allow a taller pile of glass bits.  Alternating color and clear pieces allows the color to be apparently suspended in the glass space.  Polishing completes the view by removing surface obstruction and giving a clear view to the interior.

I love the flow of glass when color melts into mix.  When the glass was hot, I was able to “paint” with glass, laying out hot trails, ribbons of glass that contained streaks of color.  When these are fused together, they leave the streaks suspended in solid glass space.  In the oval cylinders, the image is completely visible, all around, thus marking the space.  I like the materiality of the paradoxical transparent solid, of being able to see bubbles, streaks and colors.  It brings your eye inside, to bear on the image rather than as an optic object where the exterior light is condensed.  In this work your eye is drawn directly inside.