Monday, February 6, 2012

Moments in Time

Themes of sailing and outdoor adventures come to mind as the sailing season closes with cooler temperatures and shorter days. Missing the summer light, hikes in the woods, the trees, mountains and sailing are the early catalysts for small framed works of art. Working with color seems to warm things up at this time of the year. Colorful flashed and cased mouthblown sheet glass set the backdrop for freestanding framed vignettes. The colored portion of the glass is delicately etched and carved to reveal a design that evokes memories of a special time and or place. Each work of art from the "Moments in Time Series" is designed to be a vignette that can help us extend our relaxed state of mind into our busy daily lives. We need to breath. Art can help us do that. Each work of art is one of a kind. For the holiday season, here's where you'll find them.
If you hurry, there's still time to create "Moments in Time" from images of your special adventure or place.

Colored Laminated Glass

Colored Laminated Glass Method - About twenty studios, designers and fabricators from across the U.S. including Nancy Gong | Gong Glass Works were invited to be certified by Glashuette Lamberts and S.A. Bendheim to be fabricators for a new two part lamination process. Gong Glass Works is pleased to offer this exciting option for architectural art glass applications. 
Imagine Lamberts' extraordinary mouth blown sheet glass in a window design without lead. Imagine the facade of a building with expressive colored glass without the structural restrictions of lead came (channel.) A single panel of this art work can be as large as plate glass is available. Lighter colors can be layered from two to five layers for a very fine kaleidoscope effect and the design can cover the complete plate glass surface or it can provide partial coverage or accents and focal points to diffuse or preserve daylight or the view. The glass can be etched, chipped, painted etc. All this with colorful shadows that dance through the interior space with a different illusion cast from season to season. What a way to bring an interior space alive!
Public art and other large projects in the US created in this process have been fabricated in Germany for the last 15 years. In Germany, eighty percent of the architectural glass projects are now being fabricated with a new engineered two part lamination technique while leaded glass comprises twenty percent of the studio work. Only recently was the first laminated glass project fabricated here in the US for the Eldridge Street Synagogue in Philadelphia designed by Kiki Smith and Deborah Gans, fabricated by Tom Garcia, The Gil Studio, Inc. The artists wanted to bring the work home to the US. You can see this and other installations of laminated glass here.
If you would like more information or are considering a project in laminated colored glass or another approach, contact Nancy@NancyGong.com or call Nancy at 585-288-5520.
Note: Leaded glass still has its place for both restoration and new work. The use of laminated colored glass is a functional and modern aesthetic decision for interior and exterior applications - vertical and horizontal.