Lamp of the Week: 22" Tulip

 

The 22" Tulip is a generously proportioned, intricate shade design filled to bursting with flowers in full bloom. Two horizontal border rows strain to keep the masses of flowers in check. The deep red tulip flowers play against lively green leaves. The shade is shown on the Twisted Vine base (24.5" tall). We created this shade in 2005 and it is in a private collection.

 

15" Spider

 

Depending on the glass chosen for the shade, the 15" Spider shade has the ability to look bright and cheerful or dark and menacing. While obviously inspired by a spider and web, Tiffany Studios originally referred to the shade as "geometric plain, heavy ribs for #337 base". The #337 base is the Mushroom base shown in the photos and is a perfect mate for this shade. It is not surprising that original examples of this shade are rarely matched with a different base since it is called out this way on their price guide.

The spider legs, or heavy ribs as they are referred to in the original price guide are cast in bronze and give the shade an additional three dimensional quality not found in traditional dome shades. Even the vent cap is an abstract representation of the spider's body. For this shade, our client requested a light amber tone and the glass we chose is a transparent white and amber/yellow mix that has wispy mottles. The shade was commissioned by a client in Ohio and is mated on the traditional Mushroom base (16" tall).

We shot a short video of Irwin Terry soldering the spider legs into the shade. When incorporating cast bronze parts (spider legs, wisteria crowns, etc) into a shade, the challenge is to keep the metal hot enough that the solder will flow and attach to the glass. Irwin uses two soldering irons when attaching rings, rims and cast parts because until the thick metal parts heat up, they suck the heat out of the iron. Working with two irons, the metal parts heat up quickly and the irons stay at temp.  

Irwin has developed a technique of holding both irons in one hand when working with cast parts so that he can quickly change irons and keep everything nice and hot. 

***Please note that this is not an instructional video. If you decide that you wish to try this yourself, practice with cold soldering irons to see if you can hold onto two at once and not drop them. These Weller Temperature Control Soldering Irons are heating to 800 degrees and can easily slip from your hands and burn you.***

 

 

 

 

Lamp of the Week: 16" Pansy

 

 

The 16" Pansy shade showcases clusters of delicate flowers set against a geometric background. Pansy flowers are a perfect subject for representation in stained glass because of the variety and vibrancy of the flowers themselves. 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 multicolored flowers playfully interact with one another. Commissioned by a California client in 2019, the shade is shown on the Greek Urn base (21" overall height).

 

 

 

Century Studios Metalwork

 

At Century Studios, we have been creating stained glass shades since 1986 and have been producing our own line of lamp bases for over 20 years. In the past, we would visit our foundry every 8 to 12 weeks to drop off waxes and pick up raw bronzes to bring back to the studio for finishing. During that time, we were able to work on metalwork casually between stained glass projects. In the past two years our base work has increased to the point where we are now spending equal amounts of time on bronze bases and stained glass shades. We are now visiting the foundry every 2 to 4 weeks. The increase in orders for bases means that we have had to adjust the way we schedule projects to include dedicated studio time for wax work and bronze finishing. The above photo shows the mold and wax for a Shell Urn base that is currently at the foundry. This base sits up on three feet which are molded and cast separately, then attached to the body of the base. 

We recently completed this Dragonfly Mosaic Urn base for a client in Canada. Bill Campbell does all the cutting, fitting and application of the glass mosaic to the bronze casting. It is intricate, painstaking work that takes him a week to complete. For this base, the glass chosen for the mosaic tiles starts with blue at the top and transitions to green at the bottom. The glass has a shimmering iridescent luster surface that catches the light from all angles.

Farewell To Pottery Lamp Bases

 

It is with regret that we must say farewell to our line of Pottery Lamp Bases. For over 23 years, Century Studios has created pottery bases using hand thrown pots by Ephraim Fiance Pottery (also Arts and Clay/Jemerick Art Pottery until their closure a few years ago). Ephraim has informed us that they are no longer accepting commissions for custom pieces.

We have a selection of pottery bases in the studio which can be purchased at this time. Once these bases are sold, they will no longer be available. All pottery is hand thrown to our specifications and is fitted with reproduction Tiffany Studios metalwork created at our studio.

 

Budding Gourd 14" tall - SOLD (12" - 14" shades)

 

Poppy 18" tall  $1100.00 (16" shades) - One available

 

Pottery & Bronze 19.5" tall - $1700.00 (16" - 18" shades) This is a one of a kind lamp base that combines cast bronze and hand thrown pottery. One available

Budding Leaf Urn 22" tall - SOLD (16" - 20" shades)  

Leaves of Grass 20" tall - SOLD (16" - 20" shades) - One available

Kendrick 22" tall - SOLD (16" - 20" shades)

 

Monumental Budding Leaf Urn 29" tall  $2200.00 This is a one of a kind base with 4 lights. It will work nicely with 22" shades and some 25" shades such as the Rose Bush, Roman, Fish Scale or Salamander - One available

 

To purchase these bases, contact us by email: info@centurystudios.com, or phone 651-699-4838. All sales are first come, first served.

Turtleback Hanging Lantern Trio

 

We recently completed a trio of Turtleback Hanging Lanterns for a client in California. The lanterns will be incorporated into the decor at the client's winery. Turtleback Lanterns can be made using green, amber and deep black cherry red turtleback tiles. For these fixtures our client chose the deep red turtlebacks. In the photo above, only the center lantern is illuminated.

Cast in heavy bronze, the lantern itself is 13" tall from the base to the top of the loop and 8" wide. The fixture can be made to any length, but the minimum dimension from the ceiling to the bottom of the fixture is 19".

For the door at the bottom of the lanterns, we usually install a piece of transparent glass so light can come down. Our client requested an upgrade with cut turtleback pieces.

Lamp of the Week:

 

 

The 18" Trumpet Vine lamp is one of the four Tiffany Studios 18" shade designs intended for use on the Large Tree Trunk base (23" tall). The sculpted cast metal openwork crown at the top of the shade flows into the stained glass naturally by the inclusion of heavy branch work that appears throughout the body of the shade. For this shade, lively oranges and greens interact playfully with occasional shots of pale purple. Streaky, mottled, and rippled glasses intermix to give the shade a naturalistic appearance. We created this lamp in 2004 and it is in a private collection.

 

 

 

Bird Skeleton Base

 

Century Studios is pleased to reintroduce the Bird Skeleton base to our lamp base offerings. The base, sometimes referred to as the Organic Root base, has four lights, is 26" tall, and can be used with 20" or 22" shades. We used to get this base from Odyssey until they ceased producing metalwork. We now create the waxes for this base at our studio and have it cast in bronze using our local foundry. Once we get the raw bronze casting back from the foundry, all finish work is completed at our studio.

One of the features of the Bird Skeleton base is that the bronze is pierced with openings, giving it a visual lightness. To create these openings, we pour the wax and then hours are spent painstakingly cutting out and cleaning up each opening by hand.

The two lamps shown on this post include a 20" Waterlily (created in 2006 and now in a private collection)  and a 22" Elaborate Peony (commissioned in 2014).

Lamp of the Week: 16" Peacock Feather

 

The bold design of the 16" Peacock Feather shade has the symmetry of a repetitive geometric pattern softened by natural curves of a feather. Beginning with a strong amber tone at the top, the color shifts into green, teal, and ends in cobalt blue at the bottom. These colors are reflected in the peacock "eyes" that encircle the lower portion of the shade. The playful coloration of the finished piece is bold, yet subtly modulated. The shade was created for a California client in 2018 and is shown on the Greek Urn base (overall lamp height 21.5").