Lamp of the Week: 20" Azalea

The 20" Azalea has a glorious tangle of branches and flowers covering the surface of the shade. The unusual modified turban shape enhances the look of a plant growing upwards, spreading its flowering branches towards the sun.

The open flowers are enhanced with beads of sculpted solder representing the flower centers. The added solder gives the shade a lively three dimensional quality.

With abundant leaves, buds, and flowers covering the shade, the overall effect of this pattern is lush. The background shifts from green mixed with blue at the top down to celadon green at the bottom. The flowers are rendered in striated and mottled gold pink glass mixed with whites. The shade was commissioned by a client in North Carolina in 2019. It is shown on the Grooved base (26" tall).

Iris Lantern Part 3, The Completed Lantern

 

We have completed the Iris Lantern Chandelier Fixture. At 25" tall (from the hanging ring at the top to the bottom of the lantern) and 13 1/2" wide, this is a large and impressive piece. This exceptional fixture is one of the few examples of irises in a Tiffany lamp design.

As each of the six side panels were soldered together and Bill Campbell is seen doing a final check of the fit.

Once the panels were fit, Irwin Terry installed each side into the cast bronze framework. The fixture was then cleaned and patinated.

The completed Iris Lantern Chandelier Fixture has a majestic presence. The fixture is quite heavy, weighing in at just under 45lbs. The total length of the fixture is variable.

The bronze casting is highly detailed from every vantage point. The underside of the piece features sculpted bronze openwork roots in deep relief. The three dimensional roots play across the bottom of the fixture. The round door at the bottom is made up of a tangle of roots.

Each of the six sides of the lantern are unique, and the combination of bronze and glass presents a three dimensional garden of delights. This commanding fixture is currently on display in our studio showroom and is available for purchase.

 

Lamp of the Week: 16" Pansy

The 16" Pansy shade has four clusters of the delicate flowers set against a geometric background. The multicolored flowers are a perfect subject for representation in stained glass. For this shade, the background shifts from a light amber mixed with pale blue down to a vibrant blue with hints of yellow. Set against this colorful backdrop, the colorful flowers playfully interact with one another. Commissioned in 2019 by a client in Californi, the shade is shown on the Greek Urn base (21" overall height).

Studio Hours and Lamp of the Week: 16" Dragonfly

Century Studios will be closed Saturday June 17th.

Lamp of the Week: 16" Dragonfly - Dragonfly shades are instantly recognizable as the iconic Tiffany Studios lamp design. Tiffany made dragonfly shades in many sizes, and the pattern lends itself to infinite color possibilities. Commissioned by a local client in 2013, this 16" Dragonfly  shade was created in variations of deep jewel tones of blues and greens.

The Dragonfly Mosaic Urn base was designed by Tiffany Studios as a companion to the shade. The base has dragonflies and water plants cast in bronze with shimmering glass mosaic tiles making up the background.

Iris Lantern, Part 2

Having the completed bronze casting for the Iris Lantern in hand, Bill Campbell finalized the pattern work and the creation of the stained glass panels could begin.

After much consideration of color, Irwin Terry began the layout by selecting glass for the background/sky areas before moving on to the leaves.

Playing off the blue, teal, and green tones in the sky, the green leaf glasses were selected to include an intensified mix of blended colors.

An exuberant mix of blue and purple glasses were chosen for the flowers to give each bloom a distinct personality. With the addition of each individual flower the panels came together and became more exciting.

The layout complete, we moved on to foiling and soldering the panels.

To be continued...
 

Lamp of the Week: 18" Clematis

The 18" Clematis is a beautifully designed Tiffany shade with a non-repeating pattern that is covered in large flowers. For this shade, purple and blue flowers are set against a green fracture glass background. In addition to ring mottled and streaky glass, rippled glass appears throughout the shade in the flowers, leaves, and flower centers. The shade is shown on the Small Stick base. We created this lamp in 2017 as a showroom piece and it is now in a private local collection.

Iris Lantern, Part 1

At Century Studios, we have many ideas for projects we would like to complete. Often, these pieces can take years to come to fruition. One such  project on our list has been the Iris Lantern. Tiffany Studios only created a small number of these large hanging fixtures.

Various factors come into play with a project of this scale, including finding the right artist to collaborate with for the creation of the specialty parts needed. About ten years ago, we began a conversation with sculptor Nick McArdell (pictured above with the finished bronze casting) about carving the intricate framework for the lantern. The Tiffany Iris Lantern is an impressive, six sided hanging light and each of the six sides are unique.

Once we had secured images of all the sides of the lantern, the three of us began to work on the full sized mock-ups for the fixture and glass panels. Nick made a three dimensional framework on which he could sculpt the leaves, roots and the intricate bottom door. The above photo shows the progress on the roots for the underside of the lantern.

When Nick had completed sculpting the framework, we took it to our bronze foundry to have molds made of each element. We then used the molds to pour waxes, which were used by the foundry to cast the final framework in bronze. 

Having the cast bronze framework in hand was a major crossroads in the journey of this fixture, but there was still a good deal to do in order to complete the lantern. 

To be continued...

Lamp of the Week: 22" Elaborate Peony

The 22" Elaborate Peony is a Tiffany shade design that celebrates the beginning of summer. Large blooms tumble across the surface of the generously proportioned shade. Due to the sense of movement in its intricate piecework, this shade pattern is often called the Windswept Peony.

The design of this impressive shade clusters the flowers with intricate foliage bridging the space between the blooms. The cerulean blue background provides a lively backdrop for the lush green foliage and red flowers.

Shown on the impressive Large Bamboo Table Base (27" tall), this impressive shade was commissioned by a client in Illinois in 2021.