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Sunday, January 24, 2010

The Rose and the Robin`s Nest



This is a decanter, custom engraved with a combination of stone and diamond burrs. It has a very special personal meaning to the client. She designed it and I brought it to life. With a marker she loosely gave it shape and placement on the decanter, which then made it very easy for me to jump in and engrave it. I love working with my clients this way, it gives me a clear idea and a jumping off point with confidence that you know its pretty much exactly what they vision. Bringing it to life is the fun part for me. Then my excitement for them to see it and love it is very rewarding to me and the reason I love the custom work. I added the ladybug on the stem because there is always lady bugs appearing in her house. Her house is surrounded by gardens in a rural community, so the ladybugs are dear and welcome little creatures who get free rides out to the garden on the roses where they belong.

Meconopsis benecifolia



This is a small vase with a lightly engraved Himalayan blue poppy. When you peek through the top it looks like its just about to unfold. The lettering is very simple and plain around the top of the vase. This was a sweet little thing to engrave, my client spotted the vase and visioned this flower on it. Quite often the glass will tell you what to put on it, because of its shape and essence.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Where the magic happens

My little working studio sits on the creek, its very tiny and not much of a show room, however it exudes ambiance and magic in its beautiful setting. How can I not be creative there! The internet is more of a showroom for me on my website www.marlenemoloneyglass.com or the guild site www.gge.org.uk or my blog. Its nice to have this blog for updates as someone else controls my website so I don`t have immediate access. My dear spouse Tom, my best friend, biggest fan and promoter made this space for me to work in. He also built a little area beside the studio we call the zen zone. A very private place to sit very close to the creek and enjoy nature. Perfect for uninterrupted meditation. Tom walks 10 km everyday on Naramata road for exercise and his meditation. He just made the 25,000 km mark walking that road! I try to do a regular yoga practice, however not nearly as dedicated as he. He also manages to give out my business cards at the same time! Our community of Naramata is quite small, a very magical place where many artists and craftspeople live. However, we have been discovered and now many new, very large and amazing homes are being built in our community. I`m very forturnate to be one of the local artists who are being sought out to create special features for these homes. I have a commission for two glass wine cellar doors as an up and coming project and Very pleased about it.

The Guild of Glass engravers just pointed out in our members forum that an engraved goblet by Laurence Whistler, the first president of the guild, has just been sold at auction for lb 6,600 , which is about $12,000.00. Awesome!! To view go to www.bonhams.com, go to sales results, go to past sales, put in 16 December 2009, go to 16901 New Bond Street go to lot 131, show details.

My last two completed pieces are heading to Vancouver as I`m writing this and once the owner receives them, I will post them. Right now a pet memorial is in progress.

My Studio


Friday, January 15, 2010

Mirrors


Mirrors are very beautiful engraved. They have a silvery effect and really pop because they reflect back on themselves. This Rooster mirror was a recycled old mirror that was discarded. I saw all the little dots and some scratches in it and thought I could turn the dots into stars and add a lot of scratches and it turned into a rooster. This was engraved in the year of the rooster to celebrate. I am a rooster in Chinese astrology and decided to keep this mirror in my collection. I am very partial to birds of all kinds. My little chicken lived with us for 17 years. You end up almost learning their language when you live with one for so long . She became part of our family. A few years ago while my engraving was still at the hobby stage, I engraved a number of mirrors for a local glass shop . I also engraved cabinet panels and indoor architectural pieces. One thing I do regret about those years was not keeping a good record (Photographic) of all the pieces. Quite a number of the mirrors were for wedding gifts. I would take elements of the wedding invitation and put them on the mirror with personal touches meaningful to the client. I had done some very beautiful oval mirrors which were for the couple`s bedroom. Engraved borders around mirrors are very beautiful too, I`ve done many grape and leaf/foliage borders. Flowers, hummingbirds and fairies for children`s rooms. Horses, whale and dolphin mirrors. I engraved a commemorative mirror of our KVR railway tressels in Naramata which burned due to the Okanagan park wildfire in 2003. It was devastating. I engraved the tressels on an old CPR mirror with a silver boarder, which was rescue out of the Banff Springs Hotel in Banff Alberta by my German Grandfather who was working on the renovations of the hotel. That mirror is now in the collection of my Uncle Ken in Calgary, Alberta. He loved it and bought it from me. I`ve engraved an old antique mirror for some clients first grandchild. Each corner was told some of the story. It will become an heirloom in their family now. Most of the mirrors were not photographed some of the ones that were didn`t turn out because of the glare on the mirror. One thing I did manage to do was keep all the drawings. I do have a few though that I will post. Did I mention that glass is hard to photograph properly, especially mirrors. However, I have learned now through trial and error and thanks to better cameras and experience my photos turn out really well. I love the photographing part of my work too. I love engraving I love taking photographs. I quite often will run to get my camera when the light catches a beautiful scene or flower in the yard. Engraving glass is using light as your medium, so often when the light is just right on something I think how awesome it would be engraved. So, I have a lot of stock photos I keep as reference for when I need engrave those subjects.

In my studio now is a finished decanter waiting for the owner and an almost finished little botanical vase and a just about to be stared pet memorial. These pictures will be posted when the owners have seen and picked them up.

I have an awesome project after my pet memorial also, Two french doors for a wine cellar entrance. I`ll talk more about that later. Everything is very exciting for me, I love it. All the years of hard work are certainly paying off now. The future isn`t in front of you, it comes racing up behind your head. If you get my drift.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Botanicals

I love engraving botanicals. This vase was inspired by a very special patron and now friend, who is an avid gardener with an eye for beauty and quality. She is very involved as a "fog", friends of the garden at UBC Botanical gardens in Vancouver, B.C. She has brought some of my work to Vancouver to show and inspire others. This is a real boost for me as so much of my work involves educating people about Engraving in this part of the world. It is very popular in England (where most of my fellow engravers are) and recognized more overseas. I aspire to teach engraving in the not too far future and keep this ancient art alive. I gave her this vase as a gift, I could not resist, her enthusiasm and bright energy she gives to me at every meeting is invaluable to me as a working artist.



Monday, January 4, 2010

Custom Engraving


I love doing custom engraving! They are very heartfelt and meaningful gifts or personal collections. A couple examples - The Alexandra and Jeremy wedding glasses (set of 2) told the short story of A harp at the wedding, gerbera daisies were the flower, Alex and her sisters wore pearls and their mother is a music teacher. Alex loved receiving these glasses and had some done for her parent`s anniversary in the same style. Family is important to them (the tree) Three girls, (3 apples) Her mother is a piano teacher and loves gerbera daisies also, they love to be together listening to music.

Everything can be done on line, contact, communication, drawing approval and pick up or shipping instructions. Its awesome how technology allows a working artist to spend most of the time in the studio doing what they do best, and helps to bring patrons to us. It allows people like me to make a living at it. Before having a computer it was very difficult. As everyone knows by now, the face to face self-promotion is very nerve-wracking to most artists. Its so great just to show people what I do before we meet and then have a foundation of confidence and excitement to actually meet the patron. Its so much easier to give a business card with my website then go to the "elevator speech" Every time I meet someone. Thats my take on it anyway.

Its a winter-wonderland outside today. Beautiful day to be inside looking out!

Saturday, January 2, 2010

first post



Happy New Year!! First I`d like to introduce you to our little pet chicken "Kansas" who lived joyfully with us for 17 years!! She has been a great source of inspiration, joy and happiness in our lives. When she passed away, to heal from the grief, I engraved a memorial of her. This memorial was sent to the Guild of Glass Engravers to be juried for my Craft Membership assessment. The engraving traveled to England and Back home to roost. With an interesting adventure on the way, first stopping in Australia and getting caught up in customs. Sending glass overseas is easy if you check the right boxes. I did not unfortunately. I should have mentioned it was coming back. Anyway, lesson learned, I passed the assessment and very proudly and happily received my Craft Membership to the Guild of Glass Engravers in London England. Its been a long time goal, finally accomplished and I feel very much a Professional Engraver and strive to get better and better. Its wonderful to be engraving full time now.

When little Kansas passed away, a rainbow was on her back coming from a prism engraving of her in the window. It was a very magical moment. This piece of glass I chose has beveled edges and shoots rainbows onto the engraving to simulate the moment she passed. This kind of pet memorial is a very meaningful thing and can be very healing also. I highly recommend it. I love to engrave pet memorials as I love animals and know how much this one means to me.