Lamp of the Week: Showroom Lamps

During the Holiday Season, we often get asked what lamps we have in the showroom. Due to our very busy commission schedule, we have a limited number of stained glass lamps available for immediate purchase. Our current selection includes:
7" Geometric on Antique Student Lamp (new patina on base) - Glass is ruby red mixed with yellow
14" Dragonfly - Light amber glass dotted with multi-colored jewels
16" Geometric w/Triangle Border - A modern color twist on a classic design
16" Daffodil - Light and sunny shade with translucent background that shifts from yellow to amber
16" Geometric Brickwork - Classic green mottled glass
22" Dragonfly - Amber rippled glass gives this shade lots of sparkle

New Wally Birds

Three new Wally Birds just arrived from Bur Oak Pottery. Inspired by pieces created in the late 19th/early 20th Century by the Martin Brothers Pottery, Wally Birds are named for their creator Wallace Martin, the eldest of this eccentric family of potters.

Taking inspiration from the originals, each one of our exceptional bird jars is sculpted by hand using stoneware clay which is baked in a wood-fired kiln. Artist/creator Ed Klein then perches each bird on a painted, hand turned wooden base just like the originals. The heads lift off so you can stash trinkets and treasures within. Each bird is a one of a kind creation.

New Birds

 Crested Bluebird - 16" tall - That is not nest-head, his feathers always stand up that way at the back of his head.

 Snickering Bird - 15" tall - He never laughs outright, he just snickers and chuckles quietly off to the side.

Disbelieving Bird - 12.5" tall - "Come on, tell me another one...."

These new arrivals join our current flock:

 Sly Bird - 10.5" tall - The petite, quite birds find all the best bird seed.

Cunning Bird - 10.25" tall - This plump fellow knows where all the worms are, but he is keeping this knowledge to himself.

 Contented Bird - 10.5" tall - Happy and at ease with everyone, this sprightly fellow is ready for any adventure that comes his way.

 Eavesdropping Bird - 13" tall - This inquisitive fellow keeps an ear open and leans over to catch everyone's conversations.

 Confident Bird - 16" tall - Upright, loyal and true are the watchwords for this balding fellow.

 Leopold - 17" tall - This commanding fellow has a no nonsense attitude to life.

Large Owl - 20.5" tall - The grand daddy of them all. This owl is tall, stately, full of knowledge, and ready to share his wisdom with all.

Studio Hours

Century Studios will be closed Thanksgiving Day, Thursday November 23. 

We will resume regular business hours on Friday November 24 through Saturday December 23.

We will be closed Sunday December 24 through Monday January 1.

Creating A Lamp Base, Part 2

In our previous post, we outlined how the waxes for reproduction Tiffany Studios lamp bases are made. Once the waxes have been created and cleaned, they are taken to our local bronze foundry.

At the foundry, the waxes are "gated". Wax rods are attached to the pieces to create a roadway for the bronze to enter the mold while the air in the mold has an escape route. Once the wax gateways have been added, the process of creating the mold begins by dipping the wax into a thin silica slurry that completely coats the surface. After the first layer of slurry has dried, the dipping process will be repeated about 13 times until the mold reaches the desired thickness. Successive dippings are done in a more viscous silica slurry and the mold is strengthened by the addition of a crystalline silica which  gives the finished mold the appearance of stucco. Once completely dry, the piece is set into a kiln and the wax is melted out, hardening the shell in the process.

While hot, the molds are stood up in a large sand box and the molten bronze is gently poured into each hot mold. The bronze is heated in a furnace to 2200 degrees and a crucible of molten bronze is moved over the top of each mold and tipped to pour the bronze. In the photo, Irwin Terry is carefully pouring the bronze into one of the molds. Irwin is on the left wearing the green hard hat, and is mostly blocked from view by the man in charge of the pour. This photo was taken at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 2001 when Irwin took several classes in bronze casting so we would be able to have a first hand understanding of the process and be able to interact knowledgeably with our local foundry.

Here is a link to a video of a bronze pour which was taken at the foundry we use: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eSYMdWkTnw

Once the bronze has cooled to room temperature, the investment mold is broken away and the raw bronze casting is revealed. The gating is still visible on this Mermaid base, and not all of the investment mold material has been removed. After the gates are removed, the process of chasing (hand cleaning) and finishing the raw bronze parts will begin.

Lamp of the Week: Roman Shade

The 25" Roman shade has an unusual flaring dome shape which is generally referred to as "elephant ear". In addition to being an impressive table lamp, floor lamp, or chandelier fixture, this generously proportioned shade works exceptionally well as an inverted chandelier. This richly colored shade features fiery amber and red tones and is shown on the Tree Trunk base. This lamp was created in 2005 for a local client.

Creating a Lamp Base, Part 1

At Century Studios, we make many of the reproduction bronze lamp bases we offer. Since we opened in June 1986, we have worked with a number of Tiffany reproduction lamp base makers and in February 2000, we acquired all the molds from one of the foundries we had been using. Around 2005 we acquired molds from a second lamp base foundry. We have also been making molds from original Tiffany metalwork ourselves as we have had access to pieces.

The process of creating a lamp base takes many steps and multiple molds/patterns. To reproduce the Square Turtleback base shown above, we employ the talents of our bronze foundry, a metal spinner for the spun copper collar, and a glass maker to press the turtleback tiles needed to complete the base.

The process of creating the bronze castings for the Square Turtleback base begins with a quarter section rubber mold that was made from an original Tiffany lamp base. We cast four sections in foundry wax, a dark brown wax that is firm, yet pliable. The mold is filled, and when cool each wax is checked and cleaned by hand to elimate any imperfections such as air bubbles that might appear on the surface of the wax part.

For this base a second mold is used to create the light cluster stem in wax. Because the stem must be hollow, the wax is poured into the mold, swirled around and poured back out several times, building up thin layers of wax until the desired wall thickness for the part has been achieved. The hot wax must be at just the right temperature so it coats but does not melt the previous layer. Once all the waxes are cast, the parts are then taken to a local bronze foundry.

Lamp of the Week: 16" Pomegranate

The 16" Pomegranate shade is one variation of the many shade designs with a decorative band bookmarked between upper and lower rows of geometric tiles. The color of the geometric portions shift from a light green/amber mix downwards to a green/white glass. The orange/amber pomegranates in the band play off the colors of the background glass. This shade was commissioned in 2006 and is shown on the versatile Small Stick base.

Studio Hours

Century Studios will be closed Thursday November 2 through Monday November 6. We will resume regular business hours on Tuesday November 7.