Let there be light!

If it’s true that good things take time, this chandelier that we installed last night at the Burke Arts Council is amazing! Josh Smith of The Metaled Company and I have been working on it for over a year. After we came up with a concept, I created a really crusty cardboard model which Josh in turn enlarged and turned into some rudimentary steel shapes which we balanced on paint cans of different heights in my studio to see how it was developing. Then I made sample hanging glass embellishments in varying sizes, textures, and colors and we just kept playing. The final chandelier has 134 hanging dichroic glass pieces and over 100 feet of LED lights mounted inside the most graceful steel spirals that gently rotate around. It hangs directly inside the main entrance in the Burke Arts Council’s beautifully remodeled historic building, surrounded by so many other lovely artistic pieces. The building itself is a work of art, the former Burke Farm Supply, which now hosts all things art— music, theater, a visual art gallery, class space, and plans for much more. I am thrilled that our sculptural light fixture is there, quietly overseeing all the artistic goodness. This photo above is one I snapped as we worked on the installation, before we lit it. For more images and a video, check out my Instagram and let me know what you think when you visit in person.