urbanVine growing in NYC

I am thrilled to have a large UrbanVine framed and hanging in a new luxury condo building in Manhattan. The art consultant specified 42”x38” piece to create an engaging viewpoint.

urbanVine4.1 framed and installed 42”x38” hand cut glass + concrete infill c Heather Hancock 2022

UrbanVine combines precision cut geometric botanicals with a textured irregular concrete background and layered, shadowed elements in paint.

Vines on concrete are my favorite metaphor for resilience, transformation and thriving. Finding nature in city is endesssly fascinating for me given my farm girl roots. Bringing an urban aesthetic to natural forms has become my way to simplify nature’s complexity in a fresh way.

urbanVine 42”x38” | unframed c Heather Hancock 2022

This piece shipped unframed and was framed by the art consultant. Work up to ~12SF can ship unframed if preferred. Larger than 12SF we can either use my panel presentation or integrate a lightweight wood structure to ensure the piece doesn’t flex en route to a framer and wall.

detail | urbanVine 42”x38”

detail | urbanVine 42”x38”

Got a snapshot of framed piece by elevators. Loving the frame with silver edging.

urbanVine framed and installed 42”x38” hand cut glass + concrete infill c Heather Hancock 2022

evolving concept | abstract FLOURISH

Sketching. Circling back to a graphic concept that I developed as part of a recent project proposal. This concept is sticking with me…and I want to explore where this could go. I am interested in how my favorite text forms can interact with other elements, ranging from complete abstractions to hints of space/vistas. Step 1 free form exploring with color and contrast, line and form.

sketch | botanical collage Hancock 2023

sketch1 | botanical collage Hancock 2023

sketch3 | botanical collage Hancock 2023

sketch 5 | botanical collage Hancock 2023

sketch | botanical collage Hancock 2023

sketch2 | botanical collage Hancock 2023

sketch4 | botanical collage Hancock 2023

sketch 6 | botanical collage Hancock 2023

framed and hanging

Got a pic of urbanVine now framed and hanging in a multi-fam development in NYC. This piece shipped unframed. I love the silver edging on the frame they chose.

urbanVine 42”x38” hand cut glass + texture c Heather Hancock 2022

detail urbanVine 42”x38” hand cut glass + concrete texture c Heather Hancock 2022

detail urbanVine 42”x38” hand cut glass + concrete texture c Heather Hancock 2022

Case study: architectural artifacts

A recent design proposal involved some interesting architectural research. An 1920s art deco building was demolished and replaced with a multi-family development. The art consultant requested a design concept from my architectural series that connects the historic 1920s building with the newly constructed multi-family building. Archival images of the building were sourced and a 2 panel installation was proposed to point to the beauty and detail of the previous building on the site. One panel offers a looking up perspective while the second panel offers art deco details and information from and about the original building.

So much to explore in this approach to architectural work. Making physical world objects inspired by physical world objects creates an intriguing opportunity to explore the relationship between the built world and our understanding of information and place.

concept | re-creating original building facade as art piece

concept | re-creating details from original building as art piece


REFLECT X ENCODE

Continuing to explore architectural abstractions alongside big projects. Always start in grayscale with these.

REFLECT 6.3, 6.4 and ENCODE 3.4 each 20”x20” hand cut glass + concrete textures c Heather Hancock 2022

REFLECT 6.3 20”x20” hand cut glass + concrete textures c Heather Hancock 2022

REFLECT 6.4 20”x20” hand cut glass + concrete textures c Heather Hancock 2022

REFLECT 6.3 20”x20” hand cut glass + concrete textures c Heather Hancock 2022

west coast bound

Four juicy new pieces are headed to a conference room on the West Coast.

The art consultant for this project requested concepts for a set of four pieces that reflected the distinctly different landscapes within her clients’ service area.

4@ 2’x3’ hand cut glass + concrete textures c Heather Hancock 2022

Each piece needed to abstract from specific landmark views for a stand alone art piece and at the same time connect across the pieces for a compelling and cohesive hanging in an executive conference room. Clients provided reference images of the land/waterscapes.

I provided two different concept directions for preliminary presentation. I always work digitally which streamlines client communication. I can quickly sketch a vision or concept to help visualize ideas and then incorporate client feedback and preferences. Final drawings give clients a really good sense of how the finished pieces will look (minus the actual shimmer/matte contrasts that bring my pieces to life). This design phase took about 4 weeks to finalize.

preliminary concept1 specific views wetlands/city/lake/desert

preliminary concept2 abstracted color concepts wetlands/city/lake/desert

Additional versions were generated and ideas refined to get to the final selection. The clients had very specific imagery they wanted to see incorporated and we were able to back-and-forth to get to final concepts.

I created the 4 pieces based on the clients' final selection. Glass and concrete are integrated with paint and texture to create a lively contrast of matte vs shimmer. Pieces were created in ~2 weeks and shipped to arrive well in advance of receive by date.

4 views | lake/city/wetlands/desert 2’x3’ hand cut glass + concrete + paint c Heather Hancock 2022

detail 4 views | lake/city/wetlands/desert 2’x3’ hand cut glass + concrete + paint c Heather Hancock 2022

4 views | lake/city/wetlands/desert 2’x3’ hand cut glass + concrete + paint c Heather Hancock 2022

4 views | lake/city/wetlands/desert 2’x3’ hand cut glass + concrete + paint c Heather Hancock 2022

detail 4 views | lake/city/wetlands/desert 2’x3’ hand cut glass + concrete + paint c Heather Hancock 2022

4 views | lake/city/wetlands/desert 2’x3’ hand cut glass + concrete + paint c Heather Hancock 2022

detail 4 views | lake/city/wetlands/desert 2’x3’ hand cut glass + concrete + paint c Heather Hancock 2022


REFLECT 4.7

Ready to deliver this gorgeous new piece. So powerful. Will get in situ pix as soon as the piece is installed. I used a new frame with this piece which makes for a slimmer profile for the panel. Really liking it. Art consultants and designers often want pieces to have a low profile. Happy to figure out this option.

REFLECT 4.7 4’x2.5’ hand cut glass + concrete c Heather Hancock 2022

WIP REFLECT | architectural abstraction

A new architectural abstraction is in the works. The clients wanted a large piece for their family room, selecting a 4’x3’ panel size. All cutting is complete and waiting for frames to finish up.

rendering of concept at 4’x3’ c Heather Hancock 2022

WIP REFLECT | 4’x3’ cutting glass c Heather Hancock 2022

quick sketches | fun botanicals

As the color gradually fades outside, i get much more interested in color in the studio. I can see a mix of embossing and grayscale glass with some popping high contrast color.

abstracted botanicals | sketch 1 c H Hancock 2022

abstracted botanicals | sketch 3 c H Hancock 2022

abstracted botanicals | sketch 5 c H Hancock 2022

abstracted botanicals | sketch 2 c H Hancock 2022

abstracted botanicals | sketch 4 c H Hancock 2022

abstracted botanicals | sketch 6 c H Hancock 2022

urbanVine in multiples

I always love working in multiples, making pieces that connect across multiple canvases. This project will hang in another country and so the art consultant understandably specified no text elements. Embossed and etched geometric abstractions were used in place of my usual text elements. These abstract botanicals shimmer in glass, suggesting constant transformation. I’m looking forward to seeing these hanging. For now, here are some images of them in the studio.

urbanVine 3.8, 3.9, 3.10 | 3@20”x20” hand cut glass + concrete c Heather Hancock 2022

detail | urbanVine triptych

detail | urbanVine triptych

urbanVine 3.8 | 20”x20” hand cut glass and concrete c Heather Hancock 2022

urbanVine 3.10 | 20”x20” hand cut glass and concrete c Heather Hancock 2022

urbanVine 3.9 | 20”x20” hand cut glass and concrete c Heather Hancock 2022

rendering of UrbanVine | hand cut glass + concrete 3@20”x20” c Heather Hancock 2022

ideas | architectural abstraction

I recently was looking at images of a new building in NYC and could see a new set of pieces in the REFLECT series. I’d love to see what depth I could create using a limited palette of black, white, gray and concrete texture (+/- color accents). I like the overall lightness and brightness, with either silver or black concrete infill.

drawing | architectural abstractions c Heather Hancock 2022

PEAK

I’m excited to be heading to Colorado for a quick fall hiking (and remote working) trip. Growing up in driving range of the Canadian Rockies, mountains have always been a source of awe…ancient…monumental…vast.

I’m delighted with this summer’s new pieces PEAK which feel like a playful take on mountains. The hints of gold and bronze in the iridized gray alongside crisp black and white makes for a lovely subtle color palette.

PEAK | 2@20” x 20” hand cut glass inlayed in textured concrete c Heather Hancock 2022

detail | shimmer and reflectance makes for a dynamic art piece with texture and gloss contrasts adding another dimension

And that reminds me that I did a fun zoom background mountain mural last year integrated into the architecture of the work-from-home space. Perspective is all right for Cam’s computer camera.

mountain zoom background mural c Heather Hancock 2021