Studio Hours

 

Century Studios will be closed

Thursday March 28 through Monday April 1. We will resume regular business hours on Tuesday April 2.

 

Bases from the Foundry

At Century Studios we create both stained glass shades and bronze lamp bases. We purchased our core library of molds for metalwork from Studio Disselhoff in 1999 when owner Willy Disselhoff retired.  Since that time we have added many pieces to our repertoire and we currently offer over 65 base options. Rumors have arisen that we have acquired the inventory of molds and parts from the recently closed Odyssey and Paul Crist Studios, but this is not the case.

We create waxes at our studio and use a local foundry to pour our bases in bronze. Foundry wax is a deep chocolate brown and the wax for a Cerreus base is shown above. Depending on the quantity and complexity of the bases we are making, the waxes can take up to a week to make for a foundry trip.

This past Monday was a foundry day, and we dropped off new waxes and picked up castings for upcoming projects. The photo at the top shows the pieces waiting for us at the foundry. Preparing the castings for patina, finishing and assembling also includes making light clusters for each base.

Each individual component part for a base is patinated and waxed by hand before the final assembly and wiring.

Century Studios sells bases individually. We have a changing selection of lamp bases made up for purchase from our studio showroom and bases can be made to order. 

STUDIO HOURS

Century Studios will be CLOSED Thursday March 28th through Monday April 1st.

 

Lamp of the Week: 18" Turtleback

Turtleback lamps can be created in many colors, shapes, and sizes. This 18" Turtleback shade features lively green/blue/white background of ripple glass. The texture of the glass faces the inside of the shade, giving the outside an even, smooth surface. When illuminated, the shade undergoes a visual transformation, becoming a highly textured lamp. Shown on the Twisted Vine base (25.5" tall), this lamp was commissioned by a Midwest client in 2015.

18" Nasturtium

Trailing over rocks or bursting forth from planters, nasturtiums add a sense of whimsy to any garden. The 18" Nasturtium shade's turban shape playfully mimics how the plant tumbles with wild abandon across flower beds. 

Nasturtiums come in many colors and Bill Campbell skillfully blended a vibrant mix of glass for this shade, emphasizing both color and texture. The red, yellow, pink and orange flowers peek out between green foliage as the border rows in green ripple glass attempt and hold the plants in check.

Shown on the elegant Library base (22.5" tall), this shade is now in a private collection in Colorado.
 

Lamp of the Week: 18" Geometric Moorish

The 18" Geometric Moorish shade has a unique onion dome profile. A decorative band divides the upper and lower half of the shade. The solid green at the top of the shade subtly fades into golden amber above the decorative border giving way to warm amber on the lower portion of the piece. To ground the design, the two border rows at the bottom have an arch motif.

An overhead view of the shade shows the subtle interplay of colors. Six different closely related glasses were skillfully blended to created this shade. This shade, created in 2021 and now in a private collection in Texas, is mated with the Grooved base. The tall slender base perfectly compliments the exotic shape of the shade.

 

18" Nasturtuim and 24" Snowball Continued

Work on the 18" Nasturtium which progressed to the soldering stage late this past week. Here is a detail shot from inside the shade while it was being soldered. 

Irwin Terry completed the layout on the 24" Snowball shade this week. 

The 24" Snowball provides the glass artist with a large canvas on which to showcase exceptional glass in an Impressionist style. Irwin wanted the overall look of the shade to be an inviting green tone and blended together a wide variety of specialty glasses in the layout.

The glass selection complete, the three sections of the shade are shown on our light tables.

Lamp of the Week: 16" Apple Blossom

The 16" Apple Blossom is an elegant design with a strong Asian influence. Tree branches move diagonally across the shade bearing leaves and flowers. The dramatically blended amber & green glass chosen for the body of the shade provides a lush backdrop for the delicate pink-tinged flower petals. The shade is shown on the Small Stick base (20" tall). This shade was created in 2018 and is now in a local collection.

Works In Progress

It has been a busy week at Century Studios with Bill Campbell and Irwin Terry each working on separate lamp projects. 

Bill has been creating a colorful 18" Nasturtium shade, which has now progressed to the foiling stage.

Once Bill's project was laid out and the light tables were available, Irwin began the layout for a large 24" Snowball shade. As both shades continue to move forward in the coming week we will begin the preliminary stages for the lamp project that will follow these pieces.