Design of the Month · April 2011
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"Cello"
I received a request from an elderly gentleman who plays the cello in an orchestra in Dallas. He wanted a realistic, yet a bit abstract art-glass version of the instrument to hang on a wall in his home. He sent a photo of his cello to inspire the design.
I used the overlay method to achieve the look he was after ... starting with a 24" x 36", half inch thick piece of clear, tempered glass. It had polished edges and holes drilled in the corners for wall mounting. Various clear textures were applied to the front of the glass surrounding the cello image. The cello face itself is white with a subtle texture over that for interest. The neck and sides of the intrument are grained gray to add a sense of direction and depth. On the back of the glass, one sheet of black overlay film was applied, leaving a 1½" border of clear glass showing along the edges.
With ½" between the front surface and black background of the glass, overlay lead lines were applied only to the face of the glass. The ½" space provides interesting shadows created by room lighting.
My client found the abstract artwork shown here and asked me to incorporate its theme into his art-glass. He didn't want any color, except for the spash of red for the F-holes on the cello face. Various textures replaced the color sections of the artwork he'd found.
He also decided he didn't want the abstract sections across the face of the cello as shown in the artwork. The abstract sections became the background.
A major concern was shipping the glass across country. However, the packing company did a great job and the art-glass arrived at the client's home in good time with no damage. I slept better that night!
~ Ron Johnson
About the artist
After over 35 years in the sign business, Ron needed a change. He had heard about overlay art-glass years ago and happened to be in the right place at the right time as a local studio owner was retiring and selling the business. Ron says that it's been lots of fun to expand his artistic side these past six years. If you'd care to see more of his work, his website is under construction but will be up and running this month. Ron would appreciate your feedback, so send him an email message.
This pattern may be used to make one or more artworks for sale or personal enjoyment. This pattern may be printed for personal use only and may not be sold or given away in printed or electronic form.
Each month we feature a project designed using Glass Eye 2000. Do you have a project to share with the world? Contact Dragonfly Software and your creation might be our next Design of the Month.