The Birth of Blue is nearing completion.

In this photo I have laid out the parts of the piece on my backyard patio so I can get a sense of how it is all fitting together.  Given that it’s laying flat, I have propped the piece with some foam.

Imagine:  the stems sprouting out of the cyclone will be blue, and the clusters of fruits and leaves will be growing along the stems.  In this image they are shown fairly close to where they will actually be on the piece once it is all mounted together.  The close-up image shows the range of blues within the piece, from dark turquoise to a deep navy.  The entire piece is approximately 3.5 feet h, 4.5 feet wide, and 1.5 feet deep.

I made The Birth of Blue with a horizontal aspect to create the feeling of water pouring out, or the wideness of the sky.  I haven’t decided yet whether to sandblast this piece or leave it as is.  If left shiny, it would have the appearance of water, and if sandblasted, the sky.  I’ll sandblast a few test pieces to see how the blues look and then decide.

What remains to be done on this piece are sandblast tests and blasting if I decide to do so, design and weld all the hooks for installing the piece, grind and clean up some of my lumpy welds on the stems and then paint them, photograph and prepare installation instructions.  And then of course, hours of packing.

I can’t wait to see it complete and installed! 

Today’s post is about my art.  http://dailyartmuse.com/2010/02/24/kathleen-elliots-glass-botanicals/

Thank you, Susan!

You have to use your imagination still, as it’s only partially complete.

The cyclone will hang a bit away from the wall, and sprouting out of it will be the stems, which will be bright red.  Growing on the stems will be clusters of bright red plums and pepper-like pods, with bright red leaves.

I’ve been in the studio for days and days, making red, yellow and blue leaves and fruits.  They are all over my big work table along with the cyclones.  And I’ve spent two days at the machine shop, welding stems.

Some of the next steps include making more of the fruits and leaves, welding the blue stems and completing the yellow, making the fruit and leaf clusters, figuring out how the components will all hang together, sandblasting the fruit and leaf clusters, and finally painting the stems. 

I hope you enjoy seeing a bit of the process!

Awards were given, and I am proud to say, I won a Jurors’ Choice Award for Cyclone Expecting.  The jurors (judges) chose the best piece in the auction, and three other Jurors’ Choice Awards.  The criteria for these awards were uniqueness and creativity within the world of glass as well as for the individual artist, technical mastery, and content beyond mere technical beauty or mastery.

The top prize, the Saxe Award went to Michael Janis for his piece Meridians. The two other Jurors’ Choice Awards went to Paul Cunningham for his Olive Flannela Vase and to Ethan Stern for Nana Span.  Also awarded was the People’s Choice Award, voted on by the auction attendees. Two artists tied for this award – Randy Strong for his Blue Orchid and Treg Silkwood and Candace Martin for Nautilus.  Congratulations to All!

Donating artists are eligible for two award competitions.  The Saxe Fellowship Award, named after world-renowned collectors George and Dorothy Saxe, is chosen by a jury of Dorothy Saxe, Maurine Littleton, Director of the Littleton Gallery, and Micaela Von Zwoll, Director of the Micaela Gallery.  The winner of the Saxe Fellowship will receive a $2,000 cash prize and will be invited to participate in BAGI’s Visiting Artist series.  The BAGI People’s Choice Award winner will be decided the night of the auction, and presented to the Bay Area artist whose work is voted the favorite by the auction attendees. 

I donated my Cyclone Expecting  to the auction, and will have my fingers crossed with hopes of winning an award!

Local readers, please join me at the auction preview on Friday evening, February 5, 6 – 9pm.  All the donated works of art will be on display and many of the artists will be present and available to chat about our art.  The preview event is open to the public at no charge. 

The auction itself will be Saturday, February 6, and attendees must purchase advance tickets.

Both events will be at the Fourth Street Summit Ballroom, 88 South 4th Street, San Jose.  For more detailed information, visit www.bagi.org