18" Flowering Lotus, Part 2

After transferring and positioning the foiled pieces onto the waxed lamp form, Irwin began soldering the 18" Flowering Lotus shade. While Irwin soldered the shade, Bill began selecting glass for another lamp commission.

When soldering a shade the molten solder runs downhill, so positioning the shade at the correct angle is critical to getting a nice beaded lead line. Our custom made lamp holder allows Irwin to adjust the position of the shade easily. Depending on the size of the shade and the angle required, soldering is done both sitting down or standing up.

With the soldering complete, the shade is cleaned and the lead lines are given an authentic Tiffany Studios verdigris patina. As mentioned in the previous post, the color inspiration for this lamp was a pond at twilight. The rich blue/purple/clear fracture glass used for the water was created by the Schlitz Glass Foundry in the late 1980's/early 90's. Skillful color blending was required to enhance the feel of early evening, and deep saturated colors were chosen for the flowers and leaves. Heavily mottled deep greens are enlivened by blended tones of orange, deep yellow, and purple/pink in the flowers.

The finished shade is shown on the Twisted Vine base. This piece was commissioned by a client in North Carolina, and is now in their collection.

After completing the Lotus lamp, we got a jump start on three lamp projects that will be completed in the new year. There will be lots of foiling and soldering to get through in January.

Century Studios is closed until

Wednesday January 2

Lamp of the Week: 18" Poinsettia

This 18" Poinsettia shade has a brilliant red flowers set against a sunny yellow/amber background and decorative trellis. Hints of green in the bottom border row give a visual link to the Kendrick Pottery base. This shade is warm and inviting shade was primarily made out of Lins glass. We created this piece in 2011 as a showroom lamp and it is now in a private collection.

18" Flowering Lotus, Part 1

For the past six weeks we have been working on an 18" Flowering Lotus shade that was commissioned by a client in North Carolina. With just under 1800 individual piece of glass, this shade takes time and patience to create.

Louis C. Tiffany had an affinity for flowering water plants and the lotus, with its large saucer shaped leaves and lush flowers inspired many lamp patterns. For the 18" Flowering Lotus, the long slender stems cascade down the sides of the shade ending in a profusion of bold flowers that encircle the lower half of the shade.

Our client requested a color pallet that suggests a water garden at twilight. Rich purple and blue fracture glass was chosen to give the shade an overall tone. The stem and flower colors were carefully selected to enhance the suggestion of evening.

Every step of this shade takes time and patience. Most of the hand rolled art glass we use is approximately 1/8" thick and for the upper half of the shade, the majority of the pieces are less than 1/8" wide. Approaching the top of the shade, pieces narrow to thin pointed slivers of glass. To be able to pick up and put down the delicate pieces into and out of the layout, we use a tweezers to handle each sliver of glass.

Several weeks into the process, the foiled pieces of glass are transferred onto the waxed form in preparation for soldering. Like every other step in the creating of this shade, transferring the pieces is a painstaking and time consuming process. The completion of the shade will be shown in an upcoming post.

STUDIO HOURS

Century Studios will have regular business hours through Saturday December 22. We will be closed Sunday December 23 through Tuesday January 1. We will resume regular business hours on Wednesday January 2.

Lamp of the Week: 16" Poinsettia

The uncomplicated color variations of this 16" Poinsettia shade give it a pleasing sense of order. Slight modulations in the green tones provide a calming counterpoint to the brilliant red poinsettias. The shade is shown on the Leaves of Grass Pottery Base (20" tall). Created in 2005 as a showroom piece, this lamp is now in a private, local collection.

12" Dogwood

This bright and cheery 12" Dogwood lamp was commissioned by a client in Massachusetts. Set against a blue sky, the pinks and white flowers co-mingle with fresh green leaves. The shade is mated with the Budding Gourd Pottery Base.

Lamp of the Week: 26" Poinsettia

The 26" Poinsettia makes an impressive chandelier fixture or can be used as a floor lamp on the Sr. Floor of Bamboo Sr. Floor bases. This striking shade is covered in lush red and green foliage set against a rich golden background. The shade This lamp was commissioned in 2005.

16" Turtleback

At Century Studios, we offer turtleback shades a wide range of sizes, shapes and colors. For this 16" Turtleback shade, Hand cut & faceted light yellow/amber turtleback tiles are bookmarked by rows of mottled geometric glass in deep amber mixed with yellow. This shade was commissioned by an East Coast client and is shown on the Flower Petal base (overall lamp height is 18").