Irresistible

My first attempt creating a three dimensional sculptural piece. So much fun!! I named this piece "Irresistible"... like a moth to a flame.  My inspiration (and muse) is my amazing, supportive partner, Gary.  I created the glass using a "free flow" technique.  I highly recommend trying this as the color possibilites are absolutely endless. Using a clear sheet as the base, stacking and intermixing pieces of transparent red, orange, yellow and clear resulted in the "flame like" pattern.  Due to the thickness of the glass once fused, it was necessary to cut the flame pieces using a diamond band saw.  

The next step was to place the pieces back in the kiln for a fire polish. This resulted in a nice sheen on the edges of the flame pieces.

Then it was time to slump!  Using two sizes of cylinder drape molds (one for each flame as they are different sizes), the pieces were placed at an angle to create the unique shapes.  My goal was to show the flames not yet touching, but in a wonderful embrace.

The moths were created using two layers of thin clear glass.  CBS glow powder (in aqua) was placed between the wing layers. I have a fixation about using things in "threes", so I used three moths to signify our life's journey of the past, present and future.

The base is three layers of double thick clear in a full fuse.  The tiny bubbles that appeared were not intentional, but a welcome suprise!

An epoxy was used to adhere the flames to the base and the moths to the flames.

The lightbase brings out the flame colors as well as it "powers up" the glow powder in the moths for a very cool night time glow.

As most glass artists know, our minds start overlfowing with ideas as we look through many inspirational sources such as photos, instructional and pattern books, fellow artists' creations as well as nature itself and the world around us.

I based my design and the process for this piece on Lisa Vogt's "Sculptural Fused Glass with Lisa Vogt".  I followed the instructions and firing schedules used on her piece "currents".