Marble Sculpture With Fused Glass Elements - "Bette Davis Eyes"
Mixed media sculpture of marble and fused glass. The base is carved from pure white Colorado marble…"adornments" to this base have been carved into the surface and filled with black. Fused glass elements are prominently featured on the face, including the famous "bedroom eyes"…. The base is comprised of machined aluminum, which has been enhanced with a textured coating and paint. Artist's private collection and NFS
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The mainstay of my shop is fused glass creations…. this can be a stand alone piece of glass, a mixed media composition (sculptural or wall-hung), or a functional piece of work (light fixtures, plates/trays/bowls,inserts for doors or cabinets, etc).
I most enjoy making custom pieces for folks… Because I am intuitive, after a short conversation I am able to "get that person" and design a piece that is "theirs".
While many glass artists began with stained glass and later transitioned to fused work, I have 20 years experience working in fused glass. I prefer fused glass for the following reasons:
- it is STRONGER than stained glass. Art glass is 1/8" thick; a stained glass pieces consists of a lot of 1/8" pieces of glass soldered together… which means that it is thin and with all of those joints, it has the potential to come apart.
Fused glass, on the other hand, is a SINGLE piece of glass; while an individual composition is comprised of as many (or more) pieces than a stained glass piece, everything is assembled in the kiln and fired into a single, final piece. Additionally, fused glass can be made as thick as you want…so, depending on the application, multiple layers of glass can be fused together (think "glass sink"). Really thick pieces are more expensive to produce because the firing process (bringing the heat up, ramping it down, and annealing) takes far longer - it is not uncommon for a firing process to take 20+ hours with a thick/large piece of glass.
Stained glass pieces have distracting solder lines which can detract from the overall design composition - fused glass has none of these distractions!
With fused glass, you have a larger "palette" to work from. You can "make your own glass" by pre-firing different glass together (to make polka dot glass, for example) and then cut it up for your design.. glass can be fired over and over in most instances.
All of my designs are from my own original drawings; if you have something specific in mind, I would be happy to work with you to create a working drawing for a project.
Technical excellence is evident throughout my pieces; I am a perfectionist when it comes to my work, and am willing to do "whatever it takes" to have a design materialize into the physical.
- BB
Bradley Barrios
For Bradley's Outdoor Installation5.0I enjoyed the whole process of working with Karla Ely. She kept me up to date on progress and consulted with me on decisions. I am thrilled with
the final outcome and look forward to working with Karla again. - PB
Pamela Buckhave
For Custom Fused Glass Pet Portrait Nightlight -5.0Karla was so personable and caring. We had lost our dog after 15 wonderful years, to have this beautiful piece of art of him is beyond meaningful. Karla even used some fur of our beloved baby making this art piece so meaningful to us. I can’t thank Karla enough??
- BA
Barbara Austin
For Snake pit logo Project5.0Karla is a gifted artist- she was able to take an idea and create a stunning piece of art. Karla dedication and focus to detail ensured this piece was done perfect! Highly recommend Karla's beautiful work!
- MG
Maureen Greer
For Daisies for a gravestone Project5.0I had so much fun working with Karla on this project. She was great at communicating with me, she offered suggestions and made up small pieces in a few colors so I could see what I preferred (even though I didn't ask her to). She sent lots of pictures and always let me know where she was on the project. The work itself was stunning and her expertise is apparent. I actually thought I didn't pay enough for the work she put in. I can't wait to work on another project with her.
- ND
Nancy Deal
For Fused Glass Letters, Numbers Or Symbols, Cut To Order5.0It was a pleasure working with Karla. She asked great questions so she knew exactly what I wanted. I am so pleased with the letters she made for me. They will make my project look better than I could have expected. I would highly recommend her for any of your projects.
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