A minimalist REFLECT works as both architecture and mountain form at the bottom on the stairs.
REFLECT 30” x 20” hand cut glass+concrete c Heather Hancock 2023 Denver residential installation
REFLECT 30” x 20” hand cut glass+concrete c Heather Hancock 2023 Denver residential installation
REFLECT 6.6 30”x 20”
And, aluminum prints bring a pop of interest and shine to bathrooms.
2nd floor bathroom | encode ACT aluminum prints 12”x12’ c Heather Hancock
1st floor powder room | encode BLOOM + AIM aluminum prints 12”x12’ c Heather Hancock
1st floor powder room | aluminum prints c Heather Hancock
I’ve been watching for an opportunity to do an exterior piece. This super cute 3rd floor deck in a Denver townhome with a teency glimpse of mountains is the perfect spot. The 3rd floor wraps around the deck with patio doors on 2 sides creating a courtyard feeling. Adding an art piece means year-round color and shimmer outdoors…and indoors.
exterior wall
I’ve always been obsessed with living walls. I’m guessing they are tricky to maintain in our northern climates. So how about a super graphic, playful version in glass using layered greens and lots of iridized glass to bring in a variety of hues.
sketching
glass wall 01 4’x1.5’ | hand cut glass, concrete + paint c Heather Hancocl 2023
detail | glass wall 01 c H Hancock 2023
detail | glass wall 01 c H Hancock 2023
rendering | glass wall 01 4’x1.5’ c H Hancock 2023
Glass is so so happy outside. Natural light optimizes shimmer. This ‘glass wall’ is going to bring some no-maintenance year-round color and shimmer. Can’t wait to see it installed.
This highly abstracted architectural piece is headed to the Denver townhome. I’ve always suspected that the monumental verticality of the architectural pieces are my midwest substitute for mountains. Love the idea of this abstracted architectural piece making a direct connection with mountainscapes.
REFLECT 6.6 minimal | 30”x20” hand cut glass + concrete c Heather Hancock 2023
rendering | REFLECT 6.6 | new construction townhome Denver, CO
This diptych, created for a new construction townhome in Colorado, captures the beauty of the region’s wildflowers and mountains through shimmering glass. Measuring 44” x 24” each, the panels provide a striking yet intimate connection to the natural landscape just minutes away from Denver.
The artwork draws inspiration from the immersive perspective of wildflower viewing—where one must get low to the ground to truly appreciate the delicate blooms set against the vastness of the mountains. The composition highlights lupin in iridescent violet, with vibrant pops of orange and amber wildflowers bringing warmth and movement to the minimalist mountainscape. This interplay of color and form creates a visually rich experience that shifts with changing light.
Crafted in shimmering glass, the panels utilize an anodized aluminum edge and an integrated metal cleat for a sleek, ready-to-hang presentation. The reflective quality of the glass enhances the depth and luminosity of the piece, making the wildflowers and landscape feel dynamic and ever-changing. Completed within a 10-day turnaround, the project showcases the efficiency and precision of the process without compromising on artistic impact.
Designed for the living room of the townhome, this diptych serves as both a focal point and a natural extension of the surrounding environment. The vivid yet refined palette brings a sense of calm and wonder, inviting viewers to feel connected to the landscapes just beyond their doors. More than just artwork, VISTA – LupinVISTA: CO transforms the space into a reflection of Colorado’s beauty, creating a lasting sense of place.
VISTA: CO 44”x24” c Heather Hancock 2023
VISTA: CO 44”x24” c Heather Hancock 2023
detail VISTA CO | paint on concrete
detail VISTA CO | glass + concrete
detail VISTA CO | glass + concrete
detail VISTA CO | paint on concrete
Ideas are still evolving for a set of small prints to hang in other spaces in the Colorado townhome. The prints relate to the larger original piece in minimalist graphic compositions.
VISTA: CO print option1 c Heather Hancock 2023
VISTA: CO print option2 c Heather Hancock 2023
VISTA: CO print option3 c Heather Hancock 2023
BLOOM series
encode Bloom | pink c Hancock 2023
encode Bloom | grayscale c Hancock 2023
encode Bloom | orange c Hancock 2023
encode Bloom | grayscale c Hancock 2023
encode Bloom | green c Hancock 2023
encode Bloom | grayscale c Hancock 2023
spring series: CAREFREE
spring carefree | c Hancock 2023
spring carefree | c Hancock 2023
spring carefree | c Hancock 2023
spring carefree | c Hancock 2023
spring carefree | c Hancock 2023
spring carefree | c Hancock 2023
A new project is in the works for a new construction Denver townhome. An original will be made in glass (2@44”x24”). 8”x8” prints will be framed at 12”x12” in other spaces in the home.
EXPLORE print series
Delighted to get images from this recent installation in a newly renovated Evanston home.
The clients report that the piece is very shimmery in the afternoons with max natural light..and that it also catches lamplight in the evenings. Yay!!!
new REFLECT 4.7 beam commission | 48”h x 36”w c Heather Hancock 2022
REFLECT 4.7 hangs in a light-filled family room
Trying different ideas for a new construction townhome in Denver. Using the VISTA approach with foregrounded glass elements against backgrounded painted elements.
paintbrush | castilleja drawing c Heather Hancock 2023
paintbrush | castilleja drawing c Heather Hancock 2023
rendering | 2 vertical panels VISTA CO/castileja ~36” x 22” in stairwell c Heather Hancock 2023
rendering | 2 vertical panels VISTA CO/lupine ~36” x 22” in stairwell c Heather Hancock 2023
drawing VISTA CO/lupine ~36” x 22” in stairwell c Heather Hancock 2023
urbanVine 5.1 20” x 20” hand cut glass + concrete textured layers c Heather Hancock 2023
urbanVine 5.1 20” x 20” hand cut glass + concrete textured layers c Heather Hancock 2023
urbanVine 5.1 20” x 20” hand cut glass + concrete textured layers c Heather Hancock 2023
Several things are coming together in Grow5.0. Nature thriving in city. Clean line urban aesthetic to simplify nature’s astounding complexity. Dark+light contrast, concrete textures and structures, text fragments and layers and shimmering color all create endless possibility. I’m ready to exlore how these can work in new canvas proportions.
rendering grow5.1 20”x20” hand cut glass + paint c Heather Hancock 2023
drawing | grow5.0 30”h x 40”w c Heather Hancock 2023
drawing | grow5.0 30”h x 40”w c Heather Hancock 2023
rendering grow5.1 20”x20” hand cut glass + paint c Heather Hancock 2023
rendering | Grow vertical panels c Heather Hancock 2023
urban beauty | 4 approaches c Heather Hancock 2023
I came across an interior design portfolio so spectacular and clean and minimalist that I just HAD to curate some art hangings for these spaces.
rendering | grow5.1
rendering | encode 3.38
rendering | grow 5.1
rendering urbanVine 4.1
rendering SCAN
The only pieces I modified were the Scan pieces which I turned into white glass on black background (from the original highly saturated greens+blues).
Thinking some more. Those pieces could also be so elegant done in white glass on white/palest gray background. I would love to see Scan as a pure abstract monochromatic installation somewhere, sometime. A few more experiments thinking about contrast and content in a contemporary interior.
rendering | Scan monochromatic whites+grays
rendering | Scan monochromatic whites+grays on dark
rendering | grow 5.1 20”x20”
rendering | abstract architecture REFLECT 6.4
… so many ideas for the VISTA series. Now that I am expanding my lens beyond cityscapes/skylines to include natural imagery, landscapes, waterscapes, I can see tremendous potential to abstract familiar topographies into graphic clean line compositions. The San Diego VISTA pieces progressed the approach of foregrounded glass elements and painted backgrounds. I love working from reference images to get to simplifiied elements and concepts that look both familiar and fresh.
Some details from preliminary sketches … from places I’ve recently visited.
southwest / west coast | water + foliage c HH2023
southwest / mountains | mountains + foliage c HH2023
southwest / mountains | mountains + foliage c HH2023
mountains + lupine c HH2023
southwest | mountains + foliage c HH2023
lake michigan | horizon
I’m working on another ‘urban lens on natural imagery’ concept bringing color into the urbanVine concept. This time I’m trying a bright white textured background. Same leaf/vine shape in color glass and exploring the layering, shadows, fragments of information and text and hints of architecture contrast with luminous glass inlays. Here are some WIP pix from this week.
glass cut
infill concrete texture | using avalanche white
scraping back for layering
thinsetting into mortar bed
embossing foliage elements
detail | 20”x20”
I have color commitment issues when it comes to glass. Color palettes are limited with big gaps in hue and saturation. Some of my favorite glass can vary widely by dyelot. The wispy glass patterns feel busy. Iridescence adds another layer of complexity. It can be spectacular in a piece and add so much interest as it is highly reflective. But it generally brings in multiple additional hues on top of the base color.
At some point I shifted to primarily grayscale glass, partly because supply chain issues over the past 5 years have significantly reduced reliability of glass supply, and partly because black, white and grays are highly consistent colors. Finding the right contrasts (interactions with background concrete) has been a simplified. Bringing color in with paint was a recent strategy with the ENCODE series.
I have been focusing on natural imagery recently and exploring limited color glass accents alongside grayscale palettes. As I move toward using white backgrounds, I am relying on glass palettes to see how glass and background will interact. These give me quick and rough preview of how elements could interact. Of course, I really love the grayscale one. : )
One of the interesting challenges with using glass an an inlay is that foreground (glass) and background (concrete) are created in different and permanent steps in the making process. The interaction between foreground and background is, just like in any painting, critical to the success of the piece. But unlike painting, all decisions are made a priori and aren’t easily modified. The result is slow progress toward new contrasts.
I have typically started with a black background for high contrast, high drama, high impact. But I’m doing more with lighter backgrounds. The entire ENCODE series features silver gray concrete, a palette choice very directly linked to what I consider the ‘urban palette’ (think: concrete, signage, asphalt, traffic markings…). One of my strategies for getting to the right contrast is using white, black or dark gray glass. In the ENCODE series color could be added via saturated paint that I could modify and edit until it was in balance with the mid-tone gray background.
I’m now exploring white as a background to create a lighter, airy piece that still features clean crisp glass form and line and shadowy, embossed layers. These pieces are more subtle than the high contrast version. I love the idea of monochromatic or limited grayscale palette.
rendering | drawing FLOURISH w white background glass+paint+concrete c Heather Hancock 2023
drawing FLOURISH c Heather Hancock 2023
I can also see cutting glass forms in color for a truly gorgeous, fresh visual experience.
rendering | drawing FLOURISH/ambers w white background glass+paint+concrete c Heather Hancock 2023
The challenge is conveying in a drawing how the glass will continue to catch light and shimmer for a dynamic bold visual experience. A quick first step is a glass palette sample.
I love trying different hangings for beautiful spaces. This green sofa called for crisp b+w.
rendering | ENCODE 3.40 and REFLECT 6.3 | each 20”x20” hand cut glass + concrete c Heather Hancock
What would I do in this incredible space?
A single bold art piece could hold that wall. And there’s no worries about sun on art here. Glass+concrete are impervious to light and moisture.
rendering | FLOURISH w black background 30”x30” c Heather Hancock 2023
rendering GROW5.0 30”x40” c Heather Hancock 2023
Or. Take it right off the canvas onto the wall with laser cut vinyl.
What would I do in this office? I feel like bringing nature in could be nice in this spare space which quite possibly doesn’t have natural light. Natural imagery could take a couple different forms. Either approach sees nature through an urban aesthetic lens for a crisp graphic reduction of nature’s complexity. Fun thinking about different sizes and proportions that will hold that space. High contrast/black background would be high drama. And now imagine these shimmering as you walk past. And iridized amber bringing in many additional layers of color.
rendering | FLOURISH 2@24”24” c Heather Hancock 2023
rendering | FLOURISH 2@24”24” c Heather Hancock 2023
Here’s a more minimalist approach with GROW5.0. Contrast blocks gives both lightness (could be ideal if there’s no natural light in the space) and the bold dark drama.
rendering | GROW5.0 1@30”x40” c Heather Hancock 2023
What if there’s limited budget for original art but we could stretch by printed vinyl at floor-to-ceiling scale. Interesting. I am interested in thinking about mixing larger originals with prints as a way to do more with a budget.
