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the Fantastic Glass Art
of David Ward
of David Ward
I paint with glass!
The art work shown here, are "NOT"
acrylic or oil or watercolor paintings or photographs. They are
breathtaking fantasy portraits formed with hundreds and thousands
of pieces of translucent stained glass!
The pieces are glued to glass and for added design details, grouted,
instead of using lead as in traditional stained glass.
For a trip into the world of Fantasy Glass Art, click the
Gallery button to your left. Or, to find out more about the artist
and the process, click the other buttons.
Artist Design Process
In The Beginning
I created my first mosaic out of plastic
pellets used to make model planes and boats when I worked at Monogram
Models. At the end of each production run, we would "purge"
the machine of the colored plastic and have, literally, thousands
of scrap pellets that could not be used again. So, taking bags
and bags of the stuff home, I would create plastic fantasy art
figures and 3-D portraits.
Later in life, after 35 years of consulting experience and a Ph.D.
in business, I enjoyed my first apprenticeship in stained glass
at the Vetrate Artistiche Toscane in Siena, Italy. The Maestro
taught me how to cut like a master, paint like a poor man's Michelangelo,
and fish in the river in Florence like an angler's aficionado.
My second apprenticeship was with a Russian famous for his mosaics
throughout the churches of Minsk. A dedicated artist, blood would
drip from his fingertips (he cut every piece in his hands, not
on the table), and he would exclaim, "David, you are my best
student." But, you see, that wasn't hard, since I was his
only student. No one else lasted more than a month.
Creative/Design Process
In creating a design, I visualize,
"What if?" "What if" I take a creature/person
from another world and put them in a scene from this world? "What
if" I take a portrait of a lovely young woman and put her
in a geometric sphere using thousands of glass chips to transport
her to a different dimension.
Each mosaic glass art work is a one-of-a-kind fantasy art that
will take you on a journey of the mind from a six-finger alien
thinking of home to a futuristic man remembering a lost love.
I use ¼ inch plate glass, multicolor translucent glass
chips, clear glue, colored grout mixed with fish scales
and a glove of garlic, some blood from my fingertips, and a touch
of humor to finish the recipe. The pattern is placed under the
base glass. I then cut and nip the pieces -- thousands of colored
glass pieces, some no bigger than one 1/16th of an inch. Positioning
the pieces onto the glass, I glue them one by one, forming the
patterns. Then, the pieces are grouted in the same way
that mosaic masons have done for thousands of years to make a
permanent, yet completely translucent design.
I still marvel when, for the first time, sunlight hits the finished
piece and the images dance across the room reflected by the rainbow
of color shining through the glass.
For More Information . . .
And to Increase Your Enjoyment
As a client, you receive, in addition
to the beauty of the piece, the quality of craftsmanship so that
you, your children, and your children's children may enjoy it
as much as you do. My fantasy art glass creations will
add beauty, balance and harmony to your environment.
I would be delighted to make a special piece of art for you, like
a portrait of a loved one, or a piece of futuristic fantasy mosaic
glass to hang in your window or on your wall.