Off the Grid #2 front view
Off the Grid #2 back view
From a nagging little idea in April, this series grew and evolved into its bright, shiny, finished form. To review the process a little bit, I cut individual sheets of glass and assemble the pieces like a jigsaw puzzle on top of a clear base layer. The two layers are fired together and become the back of the final piece. I create the front by repeating the cutting and assembling process, but I’ve flipped the original design over and I’m now working on top it. I can see color blends and pattern interactions between the layers, but they will look totally different when fired a second time. If you’ve followed any of the process posts on my FB page here then you know that a lot of the transparent glasses turn completely different colors when fired, so a lot of my design decisions are strictly intuitive, especially when working on the second side!
When the first set of panels came out of the final firing, the colors were so vivid that I really wanted to photograph them outdoors to see if I could get the sunlight shining through the transparent areas. What a challenge natural light turned out to be for this studio photographer! I set up the table on a sunny day, on an overcast day, in the shade, and in direct sun; I had the table facing north, south, east and west trying to find the best light. I bought fabric in white, light gray and dark gray for different effects. Deadlines for show entries loomed, so today I just went for it. It was hot and humid; there was bright sunlight, clouds, rain, more sun, clouds and rain- all afternoon. I used a dark gray backdrop and changed my shooting direction as the sun moved through the sky. All went well for the most part except for the passing showers- twice I had to break down the entire set up and move it indoors until the rain let up. I think I’m spoiled though, the results in natural light were just what I was hoping for and I will definitely do it again! Now, it’s back to putting together application packets for the 2014 shows.
Starting to sprinkle