What is a Spiritile?
I believe that meaningful art is about emotion. Thus, every Spiritile created reflects a piece of our story. These icons stretch our memory and bring to mind the people we love, the things we cherish, and the passions we pursue. When collected, Spiritiles become a montage of moments that make us smile, laugh, remember, and dare to dream.
What are the cracks?
When the enameled piece is removed from the kiln it's cooled under a planchet. The natural “CRAZING" occurs in enamel. It increases the luminescence of the glass.
By rolling a pin over the surface of each piece after cooling, the light refraction in the glass increases and the enamel becomes malleable enough to frame.
How long does it take?
43 years this October! It takes everything I've ever learned to do what I'm going to do tomorrow! Ideas come and go, you always need to be ready to capture them.
I encourage you to check out the enameling process page. There you can get a feel for the care each piece gets during its physical creation. Some are relatively simple, others are very difficult.
Do you have a favorite?
It's always the one I'm currently working on! So, by the time you see it... it'll be something else. I sort of live in the moment when it comes to my favorite art.
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Picking a favorite would be like picking between your children. I'm proud of all of them equally (most of the time!)
Why Enamel?
Vitreous enamel, the art of glass heat-fused to metal, is as ancient as Mesopotamia, with historical artworks in royal jewelry and imperial treasures. With its metallic base as canvas and its myriad glass colors as “paint."
Click the image below for a 15min video from the 1990's. Enamelist started the "How It's Made" video trend before it was cool & will be innovating for generations to come.
Story or Image?
Neither image nor story come first.
Before any of that there is that raw emotion. Every piece is designed to speak to our life and reach our emotive self. The imagery & medium are very engaging, but the story is where I'm really able to gain access to the emotional connection. I spend great care crafting how I want each syllable to make you feel. Stealing & bending the words from others to create my own sentiments.
How are Spiritiles Made?
First by laying powdered glass, or “frit,” onto a perfectly cut copper canvas, using a series of stencils for each layer of color, playing cards, and hand sifters to carve out the design. Once delicately aligned and layered, the glass and metal is carefully placed in the red-hot kiln...
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Click the image below for more info:
Can you make my dog / cat? Custom work
"The design & glass experimentation of each of my pieces is an intricate process. The cost of "First Creation" is exponentially more than of a Spiritile (which are handmade one at a time and labor intensive themselves).
Unfortunately, at this moment, I'm unable to fulfill any commissioned request for a reasonable price. I mean... SURE! It's possible. I'd love to sell art futures like Jeff Koons! {lol}.
If you have a good idea, I'd love to hear about that too!"
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