Grand Canyon - Rim Trail

Asked to create a piece for a celebration of Arizona's 100th anniversary of statehood, I was inspired by the rim trail on the south side of the Grand Canyon on a beautiful clear summer day.  This is designed using several sections of Oceanside Baklava to replicate strata of the canyon walls that developed over time, then fired on a wood textured tile to show the roughness of the layers.  This section was tack fused on top of the transparent streaky blue and white to show the skies and clouds.  Added below on the right is a section to show the cliffs along the path, it is given texture by partially fusing in fine frit.  The ruggedness of the rock below and around your feet is shown in the third layer, created by fusing into the glass mosaic size pieces, then tacked on were rocks which were created out of scrap of various muliple colors of brown and gray.  In the rocky terrain vegetation grows, reminding us we can come through even in adverse times and conditions.  This not only reflects the time and developement of Arizona, but much like the stages of our lives.  Mounted to hang on the wall with a quarter inch gap so the light can shine through the sky.