Red Tail in for a Landing

My client likes to repurpose things.  He acquired some round window frames and desired my glass artwork to fill them.  This is the second of the two pieces that I created.  This was a challenging piece for several reasons.  It had to be constructed to a exact tolerance to fit into the frame.  It was large (30 inches in diameter) and difficult to move.  In addition, the client wanted the same background glass (Uroboros clear leaf green fracture) as was used in the first piece.  Of course I only had a limited amount of that left, it wasn’t enough to complete the background and, after an exhaustive search, I discovered it was no longer available. 

I worked the design to incorporate some of the Uroboros glass and another complimentary glass.  After a little trial and error I got what I felt was a pleasing look with the Uroboros glass evenly distributed throughout the background.  The feathers are from a glass called hawk wing which is appropriate since the subject of the piece is a Red Tailed Hawk.  I carefully selected the best parts of the glass to get the look of feathers.  I added internal reinforcement across the top of the bird.  Finally I freshened up the stain on the frame and gave it a fresh coat of finish.

I delivered the finished artwork just prior to Christmas.  The client added outdoor lighting and a picture frame light so he can enjoy it both day and night.