Glass Explorations II

While contemplating the word encasement, I explored some new glass powder work this summer.

Unintentionally, my concept was very similar to an assignment that I gave my students last year. The assignment (to paint a distorted self-portrait by basing the composition on a scanned/xeroxed facial print) was a blessing for some students who flourished with the 'chiaroscuro' demands of the project. However, the assignment proved to be challenging for others, who were left feeling disillusioned, which for me as an art educator is never ok.

quick sketch of idea as I saw it in my mind actual xerox of my facexerox of my face 11"x 11" layered glass tile made with glass powders entitled ENCASED by marisol diaz When working with glass powders, your initial drawing is very forgiving since the dry powders can simply be wiped (or blown) away until you fire it. However if you're working to create strong blacks it can be challenging since the material that you're working with is transparent and will also be reflective (it is glass) - thats why we use light tables during the process. Once the glass is fired your options become very limited since you can only add material and re-fire.

For this piece I combined both picture references of my face to create a new composition that included my hand. After the piece was fired I re-fired it with a layer of clear glass on top. The thickness and depth that created is difficult to see in the above shot. That clear glass layer also really helped 'encase' the piece. In addition, it made more sense why this piece was made out of glass as opposed to a drawing or a painting. I love sharing these explorations with you all!

Some Glass Explorations

powdered glass sketch by marisol diazGlass landscape sketch with powdered glass on light table - marisol diaz

Illustrations and The Azucarera Exhibit

Sugar Plum by marisol diazIdle Cherry Bomb by marisol diaz

Inspiring Glass Artist Richard Parrish

The teaching assistant for Catharine Newell's glass class at the Studio in Corning, NY was glass artist Richard Parrish (who was off to teach his own glass class at Pilchuck Glass School in Seattle WA after ours). Richard had been Catharine's teaching assistant before and fortunately their working relationship was great one. As students we benefitted the most from this combo because each artist was so dramatically different yet very stimulated by the other's art.

What on Earth? by Richard Parrish 2007 Kiln-formed and coldworked glass panel

Richard has moved on from a career in Architecture and has roots in Montana. Although often subtle or invisible Richard's work is very much informed by the figurative. The above series of work (which really resonate with topographical earth views) are my favorite. However, Richard also does architectural commissions, glass tapestries, studio productions plates. He sells some of these art pieces on Artnet if you are interested in purchasing one. While we were in class together my class mates and I were privileged to see Richard make some TESTS for future work and now you can be just as lucky too!

Check out these dimensional glass powder and kiln-formed tile- tests, in which Richard is investigating surface textures, colors relationships, dimension and landscapes!

Test1 (and my personal favorite)test2test3

The End of Glass Class

Ok so I fell off of the blogging bed and have struggled to get back up, and the clapper was of absolutely NO help!!! Luckily with a little rest and resuscitation under my belt I can now safely say that, I'm back! I have a gallery opening tonight that I will soon be posting about - but for now lets see the end of my glass class experience with instructor Catharine Newell at Corning NY.

The view of Corning from the pedestrian bridge on the way to class A dream kiln filled with my classwork...

Because of these hard economic times our class was incredibly small (we only had three students)! As any one who is familiar with education knows (super-small intimate classes such as this one can be a double-edged sword that cuts both ways, positive and negative. However, I ended up LOVING my classmates whose work and personalities couldn't have been more different than mine - Lynn Smith and Sue Hill. We were riding the same wave and trying to fully immerse ourselves in Catharine's high- concept manner of teaching powders. We also were charged with making a collaborative piece together. Each of our different styles lent greatly to this endeavor and we made one of the best pieces of the whole two weeks! We donated the completed piece to the Auction which raises funds for The Studio's scholarships.

Our student Collaboration piece in the kiln before its stacked and fused! We were also intrigued and deeply affected by the artwork created by our teaching assistant Richard Parrish whom I am looking forward to writing a post on next! One thing we all found we had in common was a deep penchant and appreciation for dessert. Sue's Notorious Dessert