Sep 2, 2016
Four Phases of Artistic Creation for the Glass Artist
Here is a
simple question I have for you. Are you able to draw a sketch or
thumbnail to help get the thoughts out of your head and onto paper?
The idea is to have the ability to engineer your art on
paper first to work out the details and to think about the moves
you will make to successfully get from point A-point Z. This will
be the starting point in the creative process as you begin this
journey of manifesting thoughts into reality.
Phase 1-The Thumbnail
Sketch
This is the first
phase of 5-phases that I feel will help simplify and guide you
through the creative process. Now this isn't for everyone but In my
opinion, if one is having difficulty coming up with ideas or simply
feeling a mental block, this path will help alleviate some of the
aggravation and heartbreak that can come with artistic discovery.
Some may argue that to become a better artist, as well as finding
your voice through your work, it is necessary to experience the
heartbreak. However a favorite quote of mine, to paraphrase is
"....The wise man learns from the mistakes of others...."
Throughout my art journey I have learned from trial and error as
well as from the mistakes of others. In college I received formal
2-D art training but regarding glass, its been about 85% trial and
error. This is why this episode in my opinion is so important
to take to heart with the hope to save you from years of
frustration and anguish from the mistakes I've made and discoveries
learned from along the way.
Phase 2-The Glass
Sketch
When
trying to figure out a direction to go this tends to be the most
affordable way to experiment with your thumbnail
sketches you've created. With any new item, creating
something in clear will shed some light on the right direction that
you want to go. One of the benefits of creating your "glass
sketches" in clear is you can rapidly cool these items, giving you
a chance to hold them and study the piece from all
directions. This will allow you to get a handle on the areas that
you may need to adjust and change for better comfort
and function. As the whole cliché goes.. "sometimes it Looks
better on paper" can hold true for an idea that might be just out
of your range of experience and technique.
This doesn't mean give up, it just means that you will
have to make adjustments, finding a way to make it function within
your means. Once you have fine-tuned your new item through
adjustments and trial and error you now have a 3-D reference to
study. If needed you can go back to your drawing board per se and
fine-tune the work on paper again before getting Phase
three, the dress rehearsal.
Phase 3- The Dress
Rehearsal
This is
the beginning of the experimentation phase while heading down the
path towards the "final design. This is a mock-up of the final
product and at this point you will be adding color or use whatever
products you have in mind to see how they work together. If
this is a never before used material like crushed opals, then
this phase will be your test run, allowing you to see how the
material works and whether or not it should even be used in the
first place. Because of the influx of new materials it is
important to learn how specific material work. Glass color comes in
different viscocities, which means the consistency of the
material works and feels different from one color to the next. Some
colors need specific flame settings and work better with similar
colors. If you are using a color that reduces next to a color
that doesn't the two colors will work and feel
differently. Especially if you are trying to avoid the reduction of
the color its self. Especially when it comes to using it for
different and new project. For example a cobalt blue is going to
move easier than a lemon drop or any cadmium color. When
referring back to your thumbnail sketches think about the colors
you're going to want to use a write them down on your drawing using
little lines of reference to point to the area that you think the
color would be applied. Once you get though a successful
"dress rehearsal" it will be time to begin Phase
four......Opening Night.
Phase 4- Opening
Night
As any
opening night of a performance, there will be bugs that need
to get worked out that may not have come up during the dress
rehearsal and rear their ugly heads during opening night.
Typically Phases 1,2, and 3 can be done on one day, Phase 4
should be done during its own session. It will give you a true
gauge on the particulars of the piece being made. This way if there
are any issues like color checking, you will be able to narrow down
the specific issues and solve them as they occur.
At this
point you will have your thumbnail sketches, clear sketch, and
dress rehearsal piece that you will use for reference while
finalizing phase 4. By having your phase 3
piece available to hold and study, this physical
reference will help you down the path towards the end of your final
masterpiece.
Now that you have successfully moved through the
4 phases of creation, worked out the bugs and fine tuned the path
you can now begin the final stage if you
want,
Phase 5......
Production.
In a future Episode, I will be diving deep into
the concept of Low-End High-Volume production VS.
High-End Low-Volume production as part of the
pricing and selling your work
series..