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I originally conceived of this idea more than a year ago when a client asked me to construct a hummingbird project for his wife. I submitted a couple of designs, including a version of this "fence post" design, but alas, he did not pick that one (he picked a lighted, mirrored base project instead - but it did incorporate the same WC hummingbirds and was a good "test run" for this project). So, the idea has been bouncing around in my head ever since. BATTLEFIELD:GLASS gave me the opportunity to let it out.

My design concept centered around the fence post with the hummingbirds flitting around flowers growing from the base of it. My immediate problems with this design concept were two-fold: 1) I didn't have a fence post that fit the "image" of the fence post in my head and 2) I knew that when I did find the right fence post, it was going to be HEAVY and I had to allow for this in the project design. Well, my friend (and fellow glass artist) Clayton Damren waded through almost waist-deep snow to dig up some fence posts that he had made more than 10 years ago from Black Locust trees. The weathering was perfect on the fence post, just the look I was going for. I then looked at different varieties of wood for the base (there is wood under the green glass base) and determined that I had to work with a pretty thick wood to compensate for the weight of the fence post. So, after a trip to the lumber yard for a 2 X 12 I was able to sketch out the dimensions and provide my husband with a cutting template for the wood. I DON'T run his table saw. He did a great job of cutting it to size (including a hole for the fence post to go through) and I proceeded to cut the glass for the base. I took a DREMEL (tm) to the fence post to add a groove to it to run the glass into for extra stability and wrapped it in copper wire to accept the solder. It seems to have worked well because the base went together very easily (although it was a bit awkward to handle).

From my experience with my earlier commission project, I knew that it was better if the hummingbirds (on their brass brazing rods) were not permanently affixed and could be adjusted as desired (and also taken off for transport). So, I utilized the method that I devised for that original project to make coils of wire to hold the brass brazing rod (see close up photo attached). These coils allow the rods to move a little bit yet still stay in place once they are set where you desire. I decided to use dichroic glass on the hummingbirds as soon as I found at that they were the Round 1 Theme item. Dichroic glass just provides a bit of extra sparkle that is really appropriate for hummingbirds. I am just glad that I took a sample of the dichro' that I wanted to use to the glass store with me when I went to purchase it; I had know idea that there were that many color/texture combinations available.

I also wanted to slump the wings for added effect. Since the dichro' changes color so much when viewed from different angles, it really lends itself to slumped work (to achieve true dimensionality). So I played around with a couple of different molds for slumping and finally settled on one pre-made clay mold and one mold made from a broken flower pot! These worked out great, although I did find that the slumping process did affect the dichro' a bit (I knew it would) and there was a visible color difference between the tails and the wings once the wings were slumped. So, the tails got dumped into the kiln for a very minor slump, mainly to change their color too.

I spent more than a week determining exactly what wing shape I wanted and how they should fit on the body to capture the wide variety of wing movements that these little birds are capable of. Thank heavens for a good local library.

After I put the wings on the bodies of the hummingbirds I had to determine placement of the brass brazing rods on their bodies and in relation to the base sculpture. This involves some imagination; I hold up the brazing rod where I want it to start at the base and then "imagine" the flight path of a hummingbird to get where I want that bird to be in the sculpture. I then (hopefully) bend the rod to fit that "flight path". It takes some practice but I am pleased with the results.

I did a bit of research on the flowers and went with a "made up" version of a flower from a book. The book didn't show the flowers in that color and I suspect they are actually smaller in real life, but I was making them to fit my birds so that is how I chose to make them!

Lastly, to finish it off, I covered the bottom with black felt (to make it safe for any surface).

       
   
           
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There were three things that influenced the idea to make a Tulip Bouquet. I owned a photographic book called "Tulips" by Peter Arnold. I had always enjoyed a picture in this book of red tulips that were opened all the way up and were revealing the terrific colors of the centers of the flower. I also had just received the January copy of Zoo books ( a children's publication that I use with my classroom) on hummingbirds. I had been wanting to make a large centerpiece for the entryway table. So when I received the hummingbirds in the mail, all the pieces of the design just fell together. The bouquet is 21 inches across and 29 inches tall. It weighs somewhere around 30 lbs. It makes a grand statement of whimsy and movement in the front hall because of the bright colors and movement. Everyone who has seen it in person comments that they can't stop looking at it, because there is always something interesting happening as they move around it. In the bright lights everything glitters and the red of the flowers glow.

Construction:

(1) Flowers:
I made nine opened tulips, by slumping glass petals over stainless steel custard cups, with whiting piled to catch the petals and curl them individually as they fell. I used three different glass selections as represented in the pictures; Spectrum Cherry Red, Kokomo drapery red, Uroboros Raspberry Pink and white swirled. I laced yellow and black glass beads on pretinned wire to make the stamen. I fused clear Spectrum glass with blue, yellow, and red frit to make the bright colors for the red flowers and black, soft green, and white for the raspberry flowers to add drama to the centers of the softer colored flowers.

(2) Flower stems:
I soldered 1/4" copper tubing to washers for the stems. Then I glued the stems to the bases of the flowers. To conceal the attachment, I slumped green leaves that were glued to the back of the washers. I painted the base of the flowers and the copper tubing a soft green. The flower stems were screwed then soldered to a copper plate (used to ground telephone poles). The copper plate was welded to a steel plate. This made the flowers which were extremely top heavy very stable and allowed me to bend them and still have them remain upright.

(3) Tall green leaves:
I fused two small squares of clear glass to the base of each leaf to make them bottom heavy. I fused copper wire between the layers on each side which was used to secure the leaves to the base. Spectrum emerald green whispy and Kokomo bright green cathedral were used. The Spectrum fired bright, while the Kokomo darkened. When placed in the arrangement, this provided a contrast for the leaves in the deep part of the arrangement from the ones on the perimeter. I kept the leaves shorter than the flowers, because I really wanted them for filler for the flower arrangement.

(4) Hummingbirds:
I tried several wing designs and was unhappy with all of them. When using "realistic wings", the birds looked static and uninteresting. So, I scaled them larger, flared and twisted the feathers to increase their impact since they were the focal point of the project. I reinforced the wings and tail with thin copper wire. The wings are made of grape iridescent glass. I placed the wings in three distinct positions to add interest. The solder is patinaed black. The bodies are painted a bright green with a cobalt blue breast, and red cheeks and beak. Then in matching colors, I glued glitter to add sparkle and sheen to the birds. They were then attached to copper coated brazing wire and the wire painted to match the flower stems.

(5) Dragonflies:
I made the bodies from horseshoe nails. I built up the solder at the head of the nail and soldered two copper BB's for eyes. I used clear ice crystal iridescent glass for the wings to add a lightness to their form. I reinforced the wings with copper wire. I used three different wing positions so that I could have some of them flying and some of them resting. I patinaed the dragonflies copper, and used green glass beads for their eyes. They were then attached to copper coated brazing wire and the wire painted to match the flower stems. The wires were twisted to indicate a flight-pattern effect.

(6) Butterflies:
I made the bodies from brass screws. I ground two sides of the screw head flat with a bench grinder, so that the screws looked more like insect heads. I soldered two copper BB's to the heads for eyes. I used Spectrum iridescent opalescent champagne for the wings. I kept the butterflies among the leaves for contrast and to add movement to the entire piece. I left the patina of the solder silver. They were then attached to copper coated brazing wire and the wire painted to match the flower stems.

(7) Bowl:
I cut a hexagon as large as my kiln would hold without hitting the temperature probe. I fused Teal Green Spectrum Opalescent and Purple Wispy around the perimeter in a hexagon pattern just until it attached itself and the clear had a soft edge. Then I slumped the piece over a very large stainless steel bowl. After the copper plate/steel plate (with all the above attachments soldered) was placed in the bowl I filled the bottom with floral foam to create a false bottom. Then I filled it with a large array of iridescent glass globs.

The project took 4 1/2 days to design, fuse, and construct. I had never made any of the items used in this project before. All the patterns, concepts, and designs were original. So for me the entire project was one big experiment. Half the time I was doing this, I was having to try and figure out how I was going to put the next part together. I don't think I breathed or slept for four nights. I was particularly pleased with the flowers. They are my favorite part of the project. Who would have thought those little stainless steel custard cups I bought at Wal-Mart could be the beginning of an stained glass project?!