Birth Angel

Birth Angel, Pressed glass, fused glass, copper, antique glass, lead casting and shells.

This is one of my new works titled “Birth Angel” . The concept of a birth angel, or birth angels, has many meanings in spiritual thinking and religions. This piece can also contain new meanings, personal meanings, for each individual who sees it, and who contemplates it with their own personal history or way of thinking. With most of my new work, the intent is to create something that conveys not just my own vision or way of thinking, but presents itself in a way that can be interpreted or transformed by each viewer. Each viewer brings herself, or himself, to the piece, imparting to the work thoughts of their own history, their own past, their own unique way of seeing the world. This mixing of personal perspective with the work forms a unique understanding and meaning, making the piece a part of the viewer. It makes the creation as much by the viewer as by the artist, a sort of joint venture.

Another way of seeing this piece is as a rebirthing of materials into a new “life” Through my years as an artist, I’ve saved many things to use in my art at some “later date”. This is that later date. For this work, pieces from buckets of broken blown glass, unsuccessful pieces that were broken in the making, copper slugs from an old vending machine (there from their pretense at being quarters), a lead casting from my stained glass work, a couple of glass pieces from an antique chandelier, pieces from old stained glass sheets, and a couple of sea shells from a trip to Ireland. Also, a few round pressed glass pieces, and a large pressed glass piece. These pressed glass pieces were all made when I was moving and shutting down my glass furnace. I made over 800 of these just before shutting down the furnace, and about two dozen of the large ones, to use at some future point. The smaller ones were pressed on a steel marver with antique irons (as in iron you use to iron clothes), and the larger one was pressed on a steel marver with a granite lawn roller from the late 1700’s. All of these pieces now reborn into this new work, “Birth Angel”.