"Helix" Takes Shape
The first installment of my series walked you through the idea, inspiration, and first rough sketch of my creative process when I’m working on a commissioned piece.
The idea for “Helix” came from a conversation with a psychotherapist who shared her view of how people experience change in the form of a helix, reverting back to old patterns of behaviors before change and transformation take place. Her analogy, and my design, were informed in part by the concept of Spiral Dynamics.
Completing a final design takes many iterations. Space, line, and form must work in perfect harmony to convey the piece’s true meaning. In the case of “Helix” I aimed to make sure that the design captured the metaphor's motion and openness, as well as a transition from one state to another.
Since my last post, I've taken that rough sketch and completed the design process, which includes settling on size, composition, and color, resulting in the coveted pattern.
An accurately executed pattern is the most important part of creating a window when using the traditional stained glass method. The pattern is the foundation on which all other phases of the piece are built upon, so it must be precise; there is truly no margin for error.
For every custom piece, three copies of the pattern are required. The first copy is deconstructed into smaller pieces that are used as a template to create glass replicas. I use a special scissor with a well on one blade to capture the black line of the pattern. This makes room for the thickness of the lead and ensures that the window stays true to size. The second copy functions as the template over which the glass replicas are placed, ensuring that that every piece conforms to its original size. The final copy of the pattern is used to build the glass window and to help me stay true to the pattern’s original proportions.
Creating the pattern for “Helix” came with its fair share of challenges. As previously anticipated, the computer software that I normally use to develop a pattern did not cooperate, for various reasons. In the case of "Helix," it became obvious that the hand drawn pattern was too complicated for the software to interpret. It's always frustrating when "technical difficulties" get in the way of art, and I had to revert to a manual process. That wasn't the end of the world, but the pattern for “Helix” has 100 pieces, so creating a stylized pattern manually was extremely time consuming.
Luckily, as the universe would have it, Facebook helped me reconnect with Ania, an old friend and fellow artist. A professional illustrator, Ania had never worked with a glass pattern but she willingly took on the challenge and came to my rescue. She took my hand stylized pattern and used one of her computer programs to create the finished template. Ania has now become my pattern illustrator and I am so grateful for her helping hand.
A portion of the pattern, created with the help of Ania.
After the pattern is created, color, texture, and light bring it to life. The color palate for “Helix” includes an array of grays, greens, blues, yellow, and orange, in different tones and textures with varying opacity and transparency. A key part of executing a custom piece is carefully testing how each color behaves in natural and artificial light. Some pieces will be displayed indoors, others will be outdoor pieces - in this case, “Helix” will serve a dual function and become part of the architectural facade of the doctor’s office.
Stay tuned for a closer look at how "Helix" comes to life.