A Moment in Time

 

A Moment in Time, Freestanding Cast Glass and Iron Sculpture, Finished Dimensions Including Frame: 32” high, 25” wide and 5” deep.

One of the things I like most about making cast pieces is that the approach is different from straightforward glass fusing. The focus of basic fusing is the project and how efficiently it can be made. Casting is driven by process. It’s the sequence of multiple, singular steps carefully carried out over a period of time, seamlessly linked together, that craft an engaging piece of art.

 

When making a cast piece as large as A Moment in Time you don’t just dive in. The concept began as a small 6” high, 6” wide and 1” thick prototype. I built this small scale version several times, making slight adjustments to each model, until it looked just right. Once I had the design, I increased the length of my firing program and made 12”high, 12”wide and 1.5” size pieces. Before going full size, I consulted with friends at Uroboros Glass. They had great suggestions for firing thick pieces. I took the most conservative parts of their firing guide, combined it with the conservative portions of mine, and came up with a totally new program. It was that five day long program that I used to fire the full size cast glass piece which measured 25”high, 22 wide and 3” thick.

 

When it comes to casting, patience is key. The success of the artwork is contingent on planning, preparation and maticulous execution. It differs from straightforward fusing, where project designs often develop spontaneously. Casting, on the other hand is structured assembly. But if you put in the time, and make the bold effort you’ll be amazed by the new, artistic possibilities that hard work unlocks.   

Thanks for stopping by.                                                                                                                                          

Lisa

Only two spots remain!

Fused Vessel Sinks and More, 4-Day Workshop

September, 16-19, 2014
Wesley Chapel, Florida.
Register online at www.LisaVogt.net

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Visit my web sites www.LisaVogt.net and www.OriginalsInGlass.com / portfolio if you’d like to see more of my work. 

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Flourish

Flourish

In East meets West on March 4^th I wrote about our most recent residential installation Lavish and Lush. The positive feedback I received from readers was overwhelming. Since then, with your encouragement, I’ve been sharing little known facts about earlier commissions that paved the way for that last installation. Flourish is one of those pieces.

Lavish and Lush
 

For years, I’d been increasingly adding and incorporating metal into my fused glass work, pushing the sculptural aspect of my art. When I was commissioned to make this large scale wall mounted sculpture I found it essential to add a third, new element, light.

The client and designer had vague ideas as to the design direction the sculpture should take. It was up to me to come up with something that would WOW them: so I drew inspiration from the most logical place, the client’s home.  I noted ribbons and circle shapes repeated throughout the area, surrounding the installation site. They were inlaid in the stone floor, forged into the iron railing leading to the second floor, woven into the fabric covering the sofa and even carved into the plush area rug in the family room.

I took into consideration the installation site and the T shaped wall space. I came up with a design that would start small and quiet then grow into a daring, outspoken spray of back lit familiar shapes, colors and textures.

Flourish means to make bold and sweeping gestures. The finished sculpture is 16 foot tall and 12 foot wide. It took over six months to design and fabricate. There are fourteen glass circles; seven are back lit with intricately hidden rope light. The beauty of this piece is its understated simplicity. All of the metal and glass engineering that went into the fabrication, though very much a part of the sculpture, is neatly hidden. It’s like a magic trick that is made more fantastic because the secret is concealed. The enormity of the piece is in how it enriches the space rather than how it is made.    

Next time: A Moment in Time

A Moment in Time

Thanks for stopping by.                      

Lisa

You know you're a glass addict if... on Facebook Lisa J Vogt

Visit my web sites www.LisaVogt.net and www.OriginalsInGlass.com / portfolio if you’d like to see more of my work. 

Web www.LisaVogt.net
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4-Day Hands-on, Fused Vessel Sink Class Update

-May 13-16, 2014, SOLD OUT!

-September 16-19, 2014, Only 2 seats left.

Register online www.lisavogt.net

Kites in Flight: Tampa International Airport

 

The question I’m asked most is, “how did you get your art in the airport?” The answer is simple… persistence. The foundation for this project, officially installed in April 2006, was laid in the year 2000 with my first public art entry in the Tour of Turtles. For this project, I covered a 6-foot tall, 6-foot diameter freestanding fiberglass turtle form, with glass mosaic. The project was very successful and paved the way for future public art displays. Since that time I’ve participated in more than a dozen public art projects sponsored by different organizations locally, regionally and nationally. The more I’ve participated, the fewer guidelines and restrictions I’ve been given by the host organizations. I have used these opportunities to experiment and to have fun! I pushed myself every time to do something different than I have before. Yet, I developed a certain style of working that people could recognize as mine. I never look at a new project in terms of ‘will the artist fee cover the cost,’ because it never does. Instead, I look to see where this project will take my art. How many new people can I reach and what new doors will this project open? A 6 foot tall, 6-foot diameter, stained glass covered manatee displayed at International Mall with my name on it, is far more memorable than a display ad that reads, ‘Mosaic.’ Thus, the momentum began to build, doors were opened and I was asked to create the kites for the airport.

 

My advice to anyone wanting to do public art is simply this; just do it! Seek out opportunities. You’re creative, find a way to participate. Don’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Be easy to work with, respectful of deadlines and above all, show your best work. Sure, you may be told to ‘go fly a kite,’ but maybe you’ll be lucky enough to be commissioned to makes some!

Next time: Flourish

Thanks for stopping by.        

Lisa

See more photos on Facebook Lisa J Vogt
Visit my web sites www.LisaVogt.net and www.OriginalsInGlass.com / portfolio if you’d like to see more of my work. 

Web www.LisaVogt.net
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It’s a Show Stopper

Starlight Bench

Starlight was made for a public art project titled, Chairs for Charity to benefit Make a Wish. It might surprise to know that the original drawing for the bench was sketched out in detail on one of those small note pads you’d find on the night stand in your hotel room. I was presenting a weekend-long glass fusing workshop in Colorado when the design concept came to me. Often times, when I teach an exceptionally artistic group the creative energy is contagious and I get inspired right along with my students.

Cutting steel

Welding

Painting

Glass layout

Glass firing

Starlight detail

Next time: Kites in Flight  

Thanks for stopping by.

Lisa

See more photos on Facebook Lisa J Vogt

Visit my web sites www.LisaVogt.net and www.OriginalsInGlass.com / portfolio if you’d like to see more of my work. 

Web www.LisaVogt.net
YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhOifd7wukk
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Art Adventure Anniversary

Kites in Flight, Tampa International Airport

Art is a universal language. Like music, sports, cooking, horseback riding, or any other concentration you’re passionate about, it brings people together. Those from different backgrounds, socio-economic status and ages find common ground, a reason to interact, talk and share ideas, because of art.  

It is in the interest of sharing art that I write this blog. For in the end, all we have is the human experience; the riches you hold in your heart over those you hold in your hand. 
Please enjoy!

Three years ago this month I started my first blog post with those words. And though time has passed and much has changed, my vision remains the same.

Since my first blog post, interest has steadily increased. But after my last post the number of visits sky rocketed. I’m taking that as a sign that you found the insiders look at our commission and installation processes inspiring. With that in mind, over the next several weeks I’m going to share stories about commissions that paved the way for our last project, Lavish and Lush.


Harmony

Harmony 14” x 32”, each panel, Fused Glass
Six glass panels are installed side by side, creating a fluid ribbon of color. The design theme represents the four elements-earth, air, fire and water. Whimsical images, such as a curious chipmunk and playful squirrel were added to the pattern. Items that would enhance the feeling of movement such as pinwheels and dangling fish are tucked into the design.

Harmony: The Commission that Started it All
Back in 2000 I was asked to design a piece of art that would be the focal point in a formal garden. I envisioned a freestanding group of six fused glass panels, arranged in a circle around a water feature. The fused glass would have to be supported in some way. Iron stands seemed the logical choice; they would be strong, durable and low profile accents for the ornate glass. So, I came home to my engineer /business partner/ husband, Joe, and said, “Honey, let’s take up welding.” Joe feels the same way about tools that I feel about friends and shoes, you can’t have enough. He was all for adding another skill set to expand our fabrication possibilities.

Harmony Detail

At the time the project seemed huge; looking back now, not so much. But everyone has to start somewhere and this job laid the ground work for many projects that came after. But most importantly, it stretched my creativity. New, more exciting artistic directions were suddenly within reach.

Next time: Starlight Bench

Starlight Bench Detail

No matter how technologically advanced we become, there’s one thing we can’t master and that’s time. There are numerous demands on your time and even more ways to spend what leisure time you are able to shave out of your day. You should know, I appreciate the time you spend here.

Thanks for stopping by.  
Lisa

See more photos on Facebook Lisa J Vogt

Visit my web sites www.LisaVogt.net and www.OriginalsInGlass.com / portfolio if you’d like to see more of my work. 

Web www.LisaVogt.net
YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhOifd7wukk
Facebook www.Facebook.com/LisaJVogt

The following is a repost for new comers to my blog. 
Excerpt from: Welcome 3-26-2011

About Me

While pursuing an education in fine art at the University of South Florida, I enrolled in a beginner stained glass class at a local shop. Immediately I was hooked, completing my project the first night rather than over the allotted four weeks. Within six months I had my first commission, within a year my first store, and a year later my husband/business partner and I opened a second store. In the studios we sold supplies and offered classes as well as designed and fabricated commissioned art for residential and commercial installations. Being a huge public art advocate I’ve participated in many projects donating original works of art to benefit local and regional charities. My artwork has been on display in major cities across the country. Always eager to meet new people and travel, I’ve presented at dozens of conferences nationally from coast to coast. To date, I have authored fourteen design books and written numerous articles for industry publications and magazines. Now a full time studio artist, I work from the comfort of a private studio beside my house, which is awesome because I live in a beautiful area. 

Here, I’m hard at work on my latest glass project and a fiction novel. The novel is a new and unexpected direction for me. One day I realized I have a funny life and I like to tell stories. I decided to start writing and discovered it’s just like drawing a picture, only with words instead of lines. Like any other labor of love, it’s taking time and dedication to churn out the pages, but I’m committed. Hopefully I’ll be sharing it here in the near future…  

East Meets West

Lavish: 120” x 72” wall mounted, fused glass and iron sculpture.
 

What I love most about my job, beyond creating dynamic glass art that echoes a client’s unique design style, is going to new places and meeting new people. So you can imagine how excited I was when a north California resident contacted me to inquire about having two sculptures made for her home.

Lush: 24” x 28” freestanding, fused glass and iron sculpture.

 

The first, and larger of the two pieces, would hang on the main wall in her great room. The second, a freestanding companion piece, would be displayed in the same room, inside an art niche above the fireplace mantel.  

The design phase took several weeks, and then the fabrication took six months. Projects of this scale have the added complexity of multiple techniques, therefore the construction is done in stages. In the first stage, I cut the glass and assembled the multi colored panels. Then, while rotating the glass pieces through the fusing and slumping firings in the kiln, we worked on the metal frames. The steel structures were designed for dual purpose, they had to support as well as showcase, the glass art. Once the metal structures were constructed, we entered the finishing stage. The steel assemblies were sandblasted, primed, painted copper color and clear coated. The last stage was packing and shipping. It took four days to bubble wrap the artwork and build the sturdy crates that would ensure a safe delivery 2,800 miles across the country.

Two weeks after the sculptures were delivered I flew to picturesque north California to oversee the installation. It was my first trip to the roaming hills of wine country and my first visit to the job site. Back in Florida, Joe and I had tried to plan out every aspect of the installation, and it paid off. The installation went like clockwork. It was one of those exceptional jobs where you’re rewarded for hard earned experience learned over the course of a long and fruitful career. But the best part, was seeing how well the artwork harmonized with the décor and how much that enhanced the overall living space.  

When you put so much of yourself into a project it becomes personal. So much so, that I felt part of myself was left behind in California. But that doesn’t bother me. In fact, it makes me happy to be able to share my love of art; and to know that my artwork is being appreciated and bringing joy to someone who was a great pleasure to meet.

Voila!

See it on Facebook, visit Lisa J Vogt

Lavish and Lush, fabrication to installation.  

View the photo album now on Facebook, at Lisa J Vogt

Joy riding in San Francisco.

After the installation, I couldn’t resist staying a few extra days and going to San Francisco. You can view my trip photos in the album: I left my heart in San Francisco

Now on Facebook, visit Lisa J Vogt

Life is what you make of it.

Make it great!

Lisa

SEE WHAT’S NEW on www.lisavogt.net

SHOP

CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS

NEW Fused Vessel Sink Class Dates for 2014

4-Day, Hands-on, in Wesley Chapel, Florida

May, 13-16, 2014

September, 16-19, 2014

Register online! Seats are limited.

My Design Books

Fire & Ice, Destination Innovation and FireWorks!

Autographed copies of my glass fusing books are now available for a limited time.

 
GALLERY

Exciting news for students!

Now you can view pictures of projects we’ll be discussing in class. I’ve posted class specific photo galleries under the gallery tab on the website.

You’ll find:

Cast Away Class Project Gallery

Fine Art of Design Class Project Gallery

Fireworks Class Project Gallery

Painting with Frit Class Project Gallery

Profit from Production Class Project Gallery

Also new:

Latest Work

Sink how-to

Sink Class Alumni

Check it out!   

 

Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

We had an unexpected visit from quality control this week.

  

Fortunately, we passed his approval.

 

Of course, the promise of treats and a warm, comfy bed didn’t hurt.

Share the love,

Lisa