Marble Sculpture With Fused Glass Elements - "Pink Flamenco"
Let's dance! Do you ever hear a song come on the radio that just DEMANDS that you drop everything and move your feet? Or does something happen that simply makes you jump for joy?! Those feelings were the impetus for this piece, and it shows. I gathered up an appropriate piece of Etowah marble from my husband's studio (he's a sculptor) and proceeded to shape it with intent. The black dots on the face are shallow depressions that I carved into the face. Once that was done, I polished the surface, leaving the back natural. I then filled in all of those depressions by hand with black ink, sealing it after the task was completed. Next, I designed the glasswork that is adhered to the face. While I normally don't care for pink, the salmon-colored glass was perfect for this project. Black, white and pink collide in high contrast on the muted face of the marlbe. Drilling MANY holes, I patiently added the glass bead and wire hair. The feet are machined steel that I made when I took a machine class one year… part of my "art in waiting" that lurks everywhere in my house. This is quite a substantial piece, weighing approximately 30 lbs.
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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.
JMJanice McKee
For Janice's lawn ornament5.0This is my first time on Custom Made. I reached out blindly in search of how to best help a friend who had recently lost his sister. I had no idea what to expect and giving only a vague idea of what i hoped to achieve. Karla contacted me almost immediately with an in-depth reply asking pointed questions, trying to narrow down my request. From that moment on, despite my cloudiness and confusion, Karla's ability, artistic vision, and supreme kindness led the way. She devised the absolute perfect plan and carried it out with a speed and professionalism that astounded me. I am overwhelmed at what she created, and the entire process since first finding your website. I feel a bit of divine intervention in how it all happened. I am so grateful to Karla, and to Custom Made, for creating this opportunity to honor his sister, also an artist. The finished project is one my friend will cherish, and this experience i would cherish as well. Karla, you are an amazing person and artist.
- 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??
- 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.
- 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.
- B
Bob
For christmas ornament4.5Karla was extraordinary in the entire process. She kept up the lines of communication constantly, and always had very interesting ideas on how to go about such an elaborate piece of work. Even when a couple snags came to pass, she handled them wonderfully! And the finished piece? Not only did I love it, but the one who received it went out of control nuts! She is still talking about it and said after the Christmas season is done, and the tree comes down, she is going to hang it at her office. Job well done!
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