Andrea's Art Adventures...

Humans always had a fascination with domed structures.

In prehistoric times they were building domed shelters using mammoth bones. In the second century the emperor Hadrian built Pantheon, a temple to the gods that is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. Early science fiction work (1881) "Three Hundred Years Hence" by William Delisle Hay describes a future civilization where most of humanity lives in glass-domed cities beneath the sea, allowing the surface to be used primarily for agriculture.

Arthur C. Clarke's The City and the Stars (1956) portrayed the domed city as a modern version of Eden.

In 1960, visionary engineer Buckminster Fuller described a 3 km geodesic dome spanning Midtown Manhattan that would regulate weather and reduce air pollution.

A domed city was proposed in 1979 for Winooski, Vermont and in 2010 for Houston.

I currently have an immense pleasure of working for Solarium Design Group where the magic of actual Stained Glass Domes happens every day. This crew has over thirty years of experience, they have mastered the art of domes to a perfection and I am lucky to find myself among such brilliant minds.

There is something truly fascinating about witnessing flat pieces of glass being transformed into beautiful curvy structures that capture the light so cleverly!

It actually felt like something out of science fiction when we had lunch underneath a 22-foot diameter glass dome. The mastery of building a frame just perfect enough to support the weight distribution of curved panels, the design of those same panels to fit together forming a perfectly rounded shape, the intricacy of leaded glass design...it is all very wondrous.

The picture and design above are  property of Solarium Design Group Inc.

I'll leave you with Stephen King's words : The fact is we all live under the dome. We have this little blue world that we've all seen from outer space, and it appears like that's about all there is.

However, some people do live under more beautiful domes than others. What more, some people are lucky to be creating those stimulating environments. Such as truly yours.

I wanted a perfect ending.  Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end.  Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next.  ~Gilda Radner

As hard as goodbyes can be, the memory of good friends and endearing experiences are always sweet to cherish, they light up our hearts. Somehow, our true feelings only surface when things are about to begin or end, we don't tend to muse over our blessings in between those lines.

I look back on the last five years of my life as I leave one workplace and move on to another and I have to say that the people that I have shared big part of my life with have left some deep footprints in my heart. So I hope to meet them again in the future, soon, as goodbyes are only very painful if you're never going to see the person again.

Strange and mysterious is the way that our paths open up before us, we are compelled to follow them, they beckon and tease us. Some will have the courage to walk out into the unknown, turn around that bend and some will stay on the main road because it is predictable, well travelled, it feels safe.

I love the adventure, the thrill of unknown, the strive for accomplishments, rewards, more. There would be nothing greater than knowing that we have succeeded in leaving a stamp in time, a little proof of our short existence that continues to live on even after we are gone.

The truth is that our inspiration depends hugely on our surroundings and state of mind. A flower doesn't look as lovely in a glass vase, no matter how colorful the vessel is...it thrives in a lush field where the breeze caresses it's petals and the morning dews invigorate it. It grows in the sunlight and only then it has something more to offer than just being a flower, just existing.

Recognizing that allows us to adjust our surroundings in order to allow us to explore our full potentials.

The joy that comes from it is enormous.

I wanted to write this entry to tell my true friends from Hollander Glass something I perhaps haven't had a chance to express clearly.

I am very glad to have met you and you have left a great impact in my life. You will always find from me a great love and respect. True friend is not always what we love to label "best friend", it is people whose friendships are active and evolving. I know that we always say how we should stay in touch when we part, yet life sometimes prevents us from cultivating long distance connections. I understand that part only too well.

I want to wish you all the best in the present and future, to know that you are special and truly blessed. Thank you for being my friends.

Truly Yours

The last weekend of summer engulfs us in smoldering heat and fierce rain showers...is it to bring ease to saying farewell to school holidays, days of sunbathing, evening barbecues and alikes? Is it urging us to welcome the cooler temperatures, intricate colors of Fall leaves, nights infused with crisp breeze...or to help us fire up the kilns that have jealously been tucked away in the shade?

In all honesty, it feels like all of the above.

Ralph Emerson once wrote ; "What lies behind us, and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." He believed that the Universe is composed of Nature and the Soul, suggested that God does not have to reveal the truth but that the truth could be intuitively experienced directly from Nature.

This is because we are intricately connected. Nature is my inspiration, now and always, but I also find all my work influenced by the beauty found within us, streaming from all different landscapes and cultures.

My example of inspiration from nature, rich and invigorating greens that soothe us through the Spring and Summer months:

Followed by example of cultural inspiration, in this case it is lavish Asian history filled with mystery, beauty and romance :

I hope that you find this change of season as satisfying and inspirational as I do however, if somehow you feel disheartened that the summer days are gone, please remember that farewells are said only to be countered by hellos again.

I have found my inspiration again. Look out for this year's Christmas collection. It will be sure to dazzle.

With the gorgeous summer weather and small million things to do, I haven't had any time to update this blog...this morning I am taking few minutes to write about some new developments of late.

Some time ago I've started helping out Kelly Hooper at Glassworks Studio with a residential stained glass project.

She is such an amazing person that just buds with creativity and does beautiful work. Being in this business for 20 years or so, she is truly an inspiration and the experience of working for her is very gratifying.

She is scheduled to appear in Architectural Digest spread in Fall, featuring one of her upscale installation sites...so I will give you an update at that time but in the meanwhile you can see examples of her work on her website, link provided above.

It also feels good to dabble in everything stained glass work entails...grinding, foiling and alikes- as I have been only fusing for quite some time now. Not to mention working in absolute peace and quiet, which does wonders for the soul!

Here's a picture of work in progress (please note that design of this piece is property of Glassworks Studio), the client wanted flower panels to be installed over his existing ceiling lights.

Still some ways to go to completion by framing and adding finishing touches, but the actual installation is soon and I am stoked. Nothing like admiring the fruits of your labour!

Now I have no choice but to head off to the great outdoors with my son to what looks to be another beautiful summer day. Hope you're enjoying it as well, wherever you are.

First off, I want to give some kind of update on the show. It was a huge disappointment, solely due to serious lack of organization.

The location was great, in the heart of the city. The day was simply beautiful, warm and sunny, very uplifitng. The streets were full of people that were more than happy to greet a true Spring day.

The Tranzac Centre looked sad and abandoned. There was no indication on the outside of the building that any kind of life was happening, much less an exciting craft show. I felt a slight unease even as I approached it. Is this where I get mugged?

Once a wondering soul by some strange miracle did happen to find us, it was like in the bowels of Earth...with no lighting, cramped and unsure of what was happening. The space was reduced, tables rearranged and after the initial shock of intense darkness there was a pang of claustrophobia then strong urge to follow the distant light right back out into the streets where one could celebrate life.

Does this sound dramatic? Well it is true, I assure you. I wanted to cheer myself up with some homemade goodies from the bake sale that was offered by the organizers, but I got a bit more depressed when I realized that one treat and a cup of coffee set me back three dollars. Ouch.

But in every cloud lies a silver lining and so is true in this given situation. I got to meet a couple of wonderful artists and the coversation and short time spent with them gave me a tremendeous joy. One of them was Angel Card, painter, sculptor and animator whose beautiful art can be seen here: A Butterfly In Disguise

Another was Paul Lanante, budding furniture designer and Sculptor whose extraordinary works can be seen here: Lanante Design

Now, I want to share with you my new addition to gallery, an album of my favorite Fused/Painted Glass Jewelry where you will find everything from elaborate sets to custom designed necklaces and even hairclips.

Just follow this link : My Original Fused Glass Jewelry

I have to admit that I tend to somewhat neglect my friends, due to either my hectic daily schedule or perhaps living in my own little bubble. Tonight I had a chance to reconnect with a dear friend that lives on West Coast and I want to thank her for the warm support that she has constantly offered through many years.

She is a real treasure. I hope that everyone out there has at least one friend that is as attentive and unselfish like her, that is happy and simple, open minded and loves life.

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Tonight I want to share a couple of my new designs for Fused Glass Bracelets. These pieces are very playful and colorful, so perfect for Spring and Summer (which are coming I promise). I'm discovering the joy of glass beads as well.

I'm giving a little twist to my link bracelets. Here's the latest:

Item above was a gift for a very special young lady and I hope she enjoys wearing it just as much as I did creating it!

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I would like to take this moment to wish everyone a wonderful new season, filled with happiness and joy....when nice things happen to you, please remember to pay it forward. This way you will send ripples of positive energy that will surely be noticed and make a difference.

Thank you for following my blog.

One week until the show and I'm almost ready. This is mostly thanks to the unbelievable weather that is nothing like Spring at all! I now have time to dig up some older files so I will share with you my digital adventures as well as some oil-painting projects....just for fun!

Hope you're having a wonderful Easter wherever you are!

Yes! It finally feels like Spring!

The snow has melted away, revealing budding shrubs and emerging tulips. Birds are singing, children are running outside with delightful screams and I feel a renewed energy swelling up inside of me. I'm loving it.

I'm staying up late working on a completely new and different line of Fused Glass Jewelry and Unique Fused Glass Votive Holders that I will bring to my first craft show.

It's happening on April 30th at Tranzac Centre, 292 Brunswick Avenue (Bloor & Spadina area) and it is organised by lovely La Leche League Canada.It will be on from 12:00 pm until 4:00 pm and there will be a bake sale as well. Yum.

View the event on Facebook here.

Also if you are in the area and have a chance to visit, you can find the directions to the event here.

I will definitely post an update (with pictures) after the event. For now I'm wishing everyone a Happy Spring and hope that you are as excited about the nice weather as I am right now!

On another note, I have added a gallery of my "other media" works, latest one being an original Pattern of a horse, designed for work in Stained Glass using the copper-foiling technique. It's a picture of a handsome white steed rising from golden sands.

This gallery will grow and evolve with time so make sure to keep an eye on updates and feel free to comment!

You can see my handsome White Horse in Stained Glass here.

A storm of beautiful, large snow flakes brews outside at this very moment, repainting the neighborhood into a crisp white and completely burying my balcony and driveway -yet again.

I am trying to recover from a flu, but no matter how tired or pained I am, sleep is  scarce. Images and ideas flow through my mind erratically and I finally can understand why - because I have time. Time being such commodity to those with jobs, pets and children - all at the same time.

Also, a small project that came about as a result of curiosity ( thank you, Neil for acting upon it ) suddenly gave me so much joy that I decided to share it with the rest of you.

Therefore, here's a peek into how designs are painted on Stained Glass windows. It is not the traditional way, this is a very small piece (less than 7" x 7" in surface) and I have to admit that I rushed a bit through it.... Having placed this disclaimer, let's proceed.

 I hope that you will find a grain of inspiration in this sample. It started with a rough sketch of Virgin Mary, face detail from The Cathedral of the Osage.

I had only a blue pen and some lined paper at hand in this very peculiar moment, but I don't believe I noticed this. I knew I could never do justice to mind-blowing imagery from Immaculate Conception Catholic Church , however I was fascinated with Mary's expression for quite some time and I simply wanted to draw her.

Anyways, we move on. Next step was transposing this image onto glass. To eliminate any lead-lines or extra assembly work (and also because I only had black tracing paint and Umber matte) I began by fusing some color on clear and adding   just a simple outline.

The "crackle" effect you see is just my coffee table underneath, it's not the actual glass.

There she was, beautiful , yet sadly lacking depth. We were going to try to remedy this by adding Umber brown matting. Although I steer towards dark, dramatic lines personally, I had to fight the urge in order not to transform this beautiful face into a caricature. That was not the desired effect for this  particular example.

Therefore came the second stage of styling the shadow areas, firing, cooling, then third stage of repeating everything all over again... I could've went on like this forever, but extreme accuracy wasn't required for this experiment and I really felt afaint from the flu at this point.

When I finally looked at her, I could see the solemn expression on her face and feel the tug in her eyes. I was happy. I know that sometimes down the line I might still be tempted to add to this tile, work on the details, shadows and highlights. But she is beautiful to me just as you see her now.

So there it is, a peek into my window and through the eyes of Mary.

Hope you are having a wonderful day, wherever you are.

I simply love Asian art, where beauty meets grace, sofistication and tradition! I always wanted a personalized piece for myself, that is as meaningful as eye-catching.

This is why I enjoyed enormously the making of this elegant set of a bracelet and earrings. When I placed them in the kiln I kept my fingers crossed to have everything come out crisp!

I LOVE the end result, it turned out to be quite a substantial piece, yet not too overwhealming due to it's clean lines. Each letter has a special meaning to me and when I chose them I thought of my goals and wishes...

This bracelet took some time because of detailed cuts and surface design. Smaller links are possible, but when I designed it I thought of a nice occasion, such a New Years Eve, thus "big and bold" came immediately to mind!

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Each link is made out of four layers of glass to give it the architectural presence. These links are very securely mounted so that there's no chance of any accidents. Toggle Clasp gives it a beautiful finishing touch and supports the established elegance.

Personally I am so excited that I'm able to wear my art! I'm sure you've heard before that artist's consider their creations their children and same can be said for me! Even though they will never be perfect, they are mine and I am very proud to showcase them.

I already have an idea for different look in the series of link bracelets so pictures will be coming soon!

Thank you for following my Blog and Hope You're very happy whatever you might be doing now!