Oz Window, Part 2

Over the past week, Bill has completed cutting and fitting all the pieces for the Oz window. He has also finished all the painting and firing, so it's ready to start assembling. Above, you can see the window laying on a light table - the window is wider than the table, so the entire image isn't lit. The shadow running down the center of the window is a support bar in the table.

In the photo to the right, Bill is hand painting the face of the Hungry Tiger. When painting and firing on glass, the glass chosen must first be tested by firing a sample piece in the kiln to make sure the color and transparency does not change. You can see in the photo that Bill has blocked in the areas he wants to paint, then has to go back in to add color, texture and shading with the glass paints. This process takes a lot of skill and patience. The photo below shows the completed face.

So what has Irwin been doing all this time? Well, he was soldering the Renoir By the Sea window and then he has been working on a small lamp for a local client - more on those projects in later postings!

Wisteria Window

A recently completed window project was a larger Wisteria window for a local client. The design of the window was loosely based on the Wisteria windows which graced the breakfast room of Louis Comfort Tiffany's home in Long Island, New York. The original windows were part of a traveling exhibition a few years ago, and are now permanently installed in the Morse Museum in Winter Park, Fl.

Our window was created to be installed over the front door to our client's home. The roof had a significant overhang to shelter the front stoop, so the colors of the window were kept light and airy. The photo to the right shows the completed window before installation on the light table at the studio.

Oz Window

As Irwin completes the soldering on the Renoir window (see posting from June 28, 2010), Bill has been starting a large "Oz" stained glass window. This window is based on the Oz Parade, shown on the left, a mural painted by John R. Neill in the 1930's.

John R. Neill was an illustrator who is best remembered for illustrating 35 titles in the Oz book series beginning in 1904 and continuing until his death in 1943. Mr. Neill also wrote 3 books in the "official" series. He did not illustrate the first Oz book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, which was published in 1900. It is hard to find a person today that is not familiar with the 1939 movie starring Judy Garland, and the original Oz books are still widely collected. There is even an International Wizard of Oz Club which celebrates all things Oz!

The original mural painting may or may not still exist, but there are a number of watercolor sketches for the painting in different collections. Bill has always enjoyed the parade of colorful characters shown in the sketches, and wanted to create his own Oz Mural in glass.

Above, you can see the working cartoon for the window. The cartoon is the basic pattern or blueprint used for cutting the glass and layout. The cartoon has been given a general coloring, but the final details are not seen in this pattern. Bill has decided to brighten up the glass color selections in the finished window, but the idea is to keep it as Neill-like as possible!

12" Acorn Lamp

Last week, we completed a 12" Acorn shade for a New York City client. Tiffany Studios created Acorn shades in many sizes including 10", 12", 14", 16" and larger. We are pleased to offer all of these sizes for our clients today.

The Acorn shade was originally called a Vine pattern, but today everyone refers to this design as an acorn. The shade we created is more vine-like in coloration with a lush green background and darker green acorns (or leaves).

The base chosen by our client for this shade is our reproduction Chinese base. The design for this base matches the Chinese desk set pieces created by Tiffany Studios.

Upon receiving the lamp, our client wrote, "It surpasses my expectations. The glass is wonderful as is the base. It was well worth waiting for."

Windows

Commission work at Century Studios ebbs and flows between window and lamp orders. We seem to hit stretches where clients are ordering more windows, and we are at the tail end of one of these time periods.

A local client commissioned us to make a pair of grape windows which are to be installed on either side of a fireplace in their home. The warm colors in the windows reflect the other art in the room. Butterflies and a dragonfly can be seen flitting amongst the ripening grapes.

We are currently creating a large, multi-layered window for a New York client based on the Impressionist painting, By the Seaside by Renoir.

This elaborate window depicts a woman sitting in a rattan chair by the sea and has all the beautiful coloration that one expects from Renior. To intensify the colors, multiple plated layers of glass are being used throughout the window. Bill can be seen putting some pieces in place on our light table in the photo to the left.

18" Peony

We recently completed an 18" Peony for a client in Cape Cod, MA. His request was for us to create a peony shade with lush red flowers. The completed shade is shown on the Turtleback Band base.

It can be tricky to find red art glass that is not one-dimensional. Fortunately, we work with several talented glass makers who can coax fine variations in the most stringent reds. To get red glass, the molten batch must be infused with either copper, selenium or gold. Copper produces intense ruby red tones, selenium provides an orange/yellow tint to the glass, while gold will produce a deep fuchsia color which lightens to pink when diluted. Gold is also used to create beautiful purple tones in glass.

For this shade, the background glass is an amber/green mix with a hint of fuchsia pink in it. The intense gold pink blended with the amber tone providing a backdrop upon which the red flowers came to life.

Upon receiving the lamp, our client wrote (in part), "The lamp shipment arrived Monday and I unpacked it yesterday. Little wonder that you send successfully items here and abroad, as your packing style is in a class of its own. The lamp is in perfect condition. I used three 40-watt bulbs and it glows with stunning, glorious colors. If Louis Tiffany Studios were still in production, they would be hard-pressed to match your technique. We are thrilled with the end result of your work."

Wally Birds

This past week, a new flock of Wally Birds flew in from Bur Oak Pottery. Each hand crafted bird is a one of a kind creation, and each has a distinct personality.

Wally Birds were first created by The Martin Brothers Pottery in England in the late 1800's/early 1900's. Each bird had a removable head and the body that could be used as a small storage container. Originally said to be tobacco jars, Wally Birds were named after their creator, Wallace Martin. Today, original Wally Birds command a premium on the auction market.

Our Wally Birds are inspired by the originals and are created by husband and wife potters, Ed and Laura Klein of Bur Oak Pottery. To begin a bird, Laura throws two small pots (one for the head and a second for the body) and also a base in on a potter's wheel. Ed Klein then takes these pots and transforms them into fantastic birds by hand, adding legs, beaks, wings and unique personalities to each creation. After drying and undergoing a bisque firing, the birds are glazed with touches of color and put into a wood fired kiln.

The final firing of the stoneware takes a complete day of constant supervision. Because the kiln is heated by a wood burning fire, careful attention must be paid to the amount of flame and heat that is produced. Salt is thrown into the kiln at the end of the firing which vaporizes in the heat and reacts to the clay, producing the unique "salt glaze" surface over the pieces. Placement inside the kiln is critical because there are areas which are hotter than others, and ash from the wood fire goes up into the kiln, landing on the pieces as the firing progresses. At the end of the firing cycle, the fire is extinguished, the kiln is wrapped in fire proof blankets, and is allowed to cool over several days. Each bird jar is finished with a hand lathed painted wooden base, just like the originals.

Because they take so much time and imagination to create, we rarely have more than a couple birds in our showroom at any one time. Each of these pieces is a one-of-a-kind creation. Our recent flock includes:

Boris (picture top, right)- This bird bears a distinct resemblance to Boris Karloff.
Evil Grin Bird (pictured above, left) - We know what a cat looks like when it eats a canary, but this bird has definitely been getting the better of the cat!
Frowning Bird (pictured above, right) - Our little friend got up on the wrong side of the nest and doesn't care who knows it.
Opera Bird (pictured to the left) - A happy, singing bird who is trying to cheer up his companions.

We also received two unusual jars with the birds, a Frog Jar and a Toad Jar. Like the birds, their heads remove for secret storage of treasured objects. The Frog (pictured left) has a shiny overall glaze and looks like he has been happily spending time in a nearby pond. The Toad (pictured right) has a wonderfully bumpy body.