A recent commissioned project turned into a (retrospective) collaboration with my wonderfully talent father and took me full circle back to my starting point with mosaics. A 12" x 12" piece was commissioned from my Transform series as a top for a metal table built by my father. Transform was first developed as an invited design proposal for the Engineering Sciences program at Parkland College in Champaign, IL. It offers a nature-based visual metaphor for the creative process of automotive design/repair and industrial/manufacturing sciences. The imagery connects to the rolling prairie and farmland surrounding the college.
Setting Transform1.2 within a metal table frame makes a material and conceptual connection consistent with the way I envisioned Transform as glass elements integrated within hot rolled steel.
My father is a talented craftsman with a particular fondness for metals. Here's an example of his dimensional, industrial sculptures.
His sleek, industrial style metal tables were the starting point for my work with mosaics. Early mosaic pieces were created as tops for my own metal table until I transitioned to creating art hangings. It was great coming back to these wonderful metal tables. This time with a concept exploring beauty in techno-industrial structure and function for my pilot+aircraft maintenance engineer brother.
More about Transform design proposal.