"Static vs. Dynamic" (First Firing)

(inspiration image)

(static)

(dynamic)

"Static and dynamic show contrasting directional lines in a piece." There actually is not a quote on a piece today because I am showing an exercise created in a glass fusing class. 

The first image you see at the top was posted on April 7, 2013. It is a mixed media piece with large brush lettering. This was my inspiration piece for the exercise in abstraction. The assignment was to use an inspirational image to create (3) pieces of glass based on lines and shapes in the inspiration image. 

The first thing we did was crop the image. By doing that I discovered some parallel lines in the background of the inspirational piece in the upper left hand corner. That pattern was then cut in glass for the static piece. We were restricted to neutrals in gray, black, or white glass. We were also restricted to horizontal or vertical lines only to visually show the very definition of static. 

In the next piece, I show some zigzag lines which appear in the bottom of my inspiration image. Again, we were restricted to neutrals and all lines had to be diagonal. Most pieces of artwork have a combination of both, but I must say that we all understood these two words after fitting all of those pieces of glass together. (I chose not to show the combination of both.)

All of this was created on the first day, which was Saturday. Yesterday, the assignment was to crop these images by cutting them down with a glass saw. We were then able to add powders, frit, stringers, or more glass which was then tack fused. (I will show those images tomorrow.) 

The amazing thing I discovered when we were given the freedom to use other elements was that even though each person was allowed to change their piece dramatically, this predominantly glass group (their primary medium) thought nothing about having all hard edges in their piece. Even when adding stringers or frit, with different directional lines, most pieces still had hard edges. It finally dawned on me that glass artists have no issue with hard edges vs. soft edges. 

The only reason I do is because it has been drilled into my head NOT to have all soft or hard edges when creating a painting or mixed media piece. It was a stunning revelation to me. Of course, one of the reasons we all like Kari Minnick's work (the instructor) is because she does an amazing job of making her pieces look like a work of art with a full range of edge treatment. Her powders can look like watercolors. She has a full range of values which, of course, is one way to achieve hard and soft edges. It is all very instructive and I am happy to share this information with you. (You might enjoy visiting her website to see her amazing work.)   And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.