"Rejoice" (final section)

(Final)

"Rejoice always." This portion of a verse from Philippians 4 was the inspiration for all three glass pieces in this collection. What you are seeing today is the smallest piece in its final state.

If you remember the last posting, this is the same piece with some important revisions. The transitions from one value to another are much more subtle and creates a more harmonious piece. It is also great to have quieter areas where not much is going on. It actually enhances the part where you want the viewer to look.  Notice the blue now dominates the piece.

 After changing out a few pieces of glass, this piece was placed in the kiln and fired at a full fuse. The addition of the script lettering was written with tracing black powder and clove oil and the same pointed pen I use for lettering on paper. The nice thing about lettering on glass is that you can wipe it off and start over until you're satisfied with the result.

The image you see today was photographed this morning. It will now go back into the kiln at a medium fuse (no hotter than 1350 degrees) to set the lettering. The other important integration factor was splattering some of the writing medium on and around the lettering and allowing some bits to fall into the solid blue areas.

Another point about the lettering is that my goal was to also have it subliminally in the background. In the white area in the top right hand corner, you can faintly recognize the word rejoice carved out of the glass line paint with a bamboo pen. It is another way to achieve texture and reinforce the focus of the piece.

The repetitive writing of the one word "rejoice" appears in all three pieces of this collection. I actually tried writing bolder and with a ruling pen, but it looked contrived and really did not integrate well at all. Fine lines are the appeal in glass and this is one way to achieve them and have texture at the same time. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.