Finishing a project... cont'd. Hispanic/American Civil Rights

To continue the history of this project, after many months of waiting, the artists were given new parameters.  Right away I struggled with sticking with the project or letting it go.  I loved the concept, but the budget was very tight.  I went through a constant deliberation in my head about following through because I loved the impact it would have on thousands of people for many, many years who would walk into the bus depot and see these historical movements depicted in glass.  Obviously, I chose to work through the problems.

Originally each artist was to create only one window.  After checking with the arts council representative, I was given permission to work on more than one because I had different artists in mind to create the design, and I would fabricate it.  Immediately I thought of Greg (Gregorio) Perez in Adrian.  I admire him as an artist, as a wonderful person, I wanted to try to mimic his style in glass, and I knew he would take the historical part of the project seriously.  He accepted and I have to say this was a very time consuming but inspirational window to work on.  I really wanted it to be vibrant, full of color and movement... and it was.  I could not have been any happier with the design.  Greg did have to go through some design changes due to the fact that, although historically correct, there could have been some negative fallout as a result.  Once the changes were made, even he was happier with the results.

From my end, trying to get the results of a "linocut" or "woodcut" design in glass was not easy.  Originally, I tried using the same materials he would have used, applying glass paints, then transferring it to the glass.  Those results were unsuccessful.  Next, I tried different paint brushes to get the look I was going after.  I finally found that look and had somewhat mixed results getting it to repeat in the same way throughout the project.

Every artist goes through the process of acknowledging what they like and what they would do different.  I can relate to that in this piece.  Because after 4 years of working on a project that was scheduled to end several years prior, I was in constant deliberation about where to cut costs.  The answer I would get when talking with the "Powers That Be", was never changing and resulted in this response:  Work within your budget.  So I did that while at the same time trying to create a window that was good enough to honor the original design by Greg and the people it represents.  So, the wonderful results included a beautiful design to start with, some gorgeous glass, a fun learning experience trying to honor Greg's style, and in the end, a very attractive and educational stained glass window.  What would I have done different?  Bit the bullet and purchased more glass, similar in tone for the faces.  This was one of my most time consuming and costly windows to build.  And, although I was way over budget on this one, if I had to do it again... I would have bit the bullet and bought more glass despite the recommendations of the financially responsible people in my life.

Greg - I will be forever grateful for you input on this one!  Do me a favor and check out the link to his web site below.

Pat Deere

Links:  Gregorio Perez

What an artist goes through to finish a project...

Finally, I have the privilege of posting pictures of one of the finished windows that I have been working on for the Michigan Transportation Authority in Flint.  As a project that spanned  2007-2011, there were definite challenges along the way.  Most of them revolving around increased costs due to the length of time it took to get it completed.  Without going into all of the details, my lead costs alone increased 40% from the time this project started.

I think sometimes it is important to share what an artist goes through on their end so I'll take a little time to do that.  This gets a little lengthy, but there are artists that may be interested in the process and clients who may be interested in it as well.  So,  I'll be posting bits and pieces of the process as I post more finished photos.

In 2007, I was invited to submit drawings for a stained glass window with the design based on Civil Rights.  Immediately, I knew what design that would be.  I had met an amazing person whom I saw read her poem, "Self Portrait", while performing with The Long Hairz Collective at the Crazy Wisdom Book Store in Ann Arbor and have always wanted to create a stained glass piece based on that poem.  So, after getting permission to use her poem in conjunction with this project I created and submitted my design.  Upon getting the requested design, the committee decided that most of them were coming in with an African American theme, and although they wanted that as one of the themes, there are many other people who have been protected by civil rights laws that needed to be represented.

So, they combined efforts with another organization to help them decide what groups of people should be included in this project and what details need to be included.  Right away, the project totally changed.  It changed for me because our ideas are now being dictated by a committee.

I encourage you to listen to the reading of the poem I was referring to and have the link listed below.  More to come...

Pat Deere

Links:
Self Portrait Is On This CD: Long Hairz Collective, Dreadlocks and Ponytails

Flint Bus Depot - Women's Rights Window

My current commission is one for the Michigan Transportation Authority. They are installing a series of stained glass windows, about 4.5'x16', in the Flint Bus Depot. I will be fabricating 5 windows total and designing 2 of them.

This computerized drawing shows, roughly, what the window will look like. The background will be an assortment of Youghiogheny glass rectangles arranged into a sunrise color scheme. The 5 women I was to highlight + Maya Angelou (my personal favorite), will have their silhouettes in heavy lead in the background.

Now, where your help comes in... I would like to include pieces of glass from women in your lives who helped you personally, like the pioneers of the Women's Rights Movement helped all of us, through their own strength, courage, and wisdom. Immediately I thought of the grandparents in my life that I was so blessed to have. Growing up, both my husband and myself, were fortunate to have parents, grandparents, and great grandparents who were positive influences on us. I am going to incorporate glass pieces from as many of these strong women as I can, into the scale which will make up the central part of this design. I prefer to have clear glass but will include others where I can.

For example, my Grandma Schmuckal kept a lot of stuff. I was able to acquire a glass shade from her that had a crack in it. The picture you see here is a scan of the edge of that glass. I will be cutting this off of the broken shade with a diamond band saw, flattening it in the kiln, and cutting it to the size I need. I have a broken crystal glass of my mom's. As you can see, I don't throw much away if it is glass. I will be using some of the pieces from that glass in the scale as well.

So... if you have a female in your life that had an impact on you, like women from the women's movement had on society... and you want to include a piece of their glass (preferably clear) into this design. I would love to hear from you. I may not be able to include all of it but if you send it, I will try to fit it in.

LOOKING FOR: Glass from influential women in your life!

Pat