Favorite
Projects (for now) Gallery and Why
(click
thumbnails below to view)
These
images are compiled from the other galleries. Usually the project
an artist is currently working on is his favorite (but they are
all kinda like our babies, how do we say which is our favorite)?
Included here are ones that we feel were either an especially
innovative solution to a tough design problem, were well received
by the general public or were well received by people that know
something about art.
CD-8
"20 M.E.V." Florida
Hospital Outpatient Cancer Treatment Center, Orlando, FL, 10' x
5', 1994.
For this commission,
we were faced with a common design problem. The space is NOT
a window (it doesn't open to the outside), but rather an area
between the reception desk and a hallway. From a skylight, the
hallway does receive a comparatively high light level in the daytime.
In this very high tech facility, as the name implies, patients
come for radiation therapy. My solution was not a stained glass
window but rather a mosaic/clear glass/etched assemblage with
very little color. The piece demonstrates a lot of "sparkle"
and is translucent so it provides some privacy to patients passing
behind it. The architect for the project approved the design but
the selection committee, made up of medical and administrative
staff, were a little hesitant with their acceptance until one
of them asked me to explain it. My explanation was: "This
is my interpretation of a negatively charged particle being projected
by your 20 million electron volt linear accelerator thereby penetrating
layers of stratified squamous epithelium to strike a target cancer
cell with concomitant tissue damage". Once they heard the
explanation they unanimously approved the design (but asked me
to omit the part about tissue damage!) I guess my pre-med background
helped me in this case.
CD-32
8930 "MAZE II"- Florida School for the
Deaf and Blind, St. Augustine, FL, 9' x 5', 1990. *
This project was one
of the State of Florida's Art-in-Public-Spaces competitions.
On my initial visit to the site, I observed that some of the existing
art in other sites at this facility were placed so that they couldn't
be touched. Strange, considering that the majority of this particular
viewing audience were vision impaired students, faculty and administrators!
Of about 85 initial submissions for this project, the short list
was cut to 4. The selection committee had designated several
different locations for the proposed art. The medium I elected
to develop and submit was a stone mosaic. In architecture, repetition
of forms adds harmony, so the overall graphic design is based
on some of the architectural elements; the arch relating the barrel
arched skylight over the entire space, the gridded background
relating to the pattern of the floor tile, etc. The relief and
various textures of the stone provide a highly tactile surface
for the audience to "view". But more importantly, in
this particular piece, I included several MAZES. The mosaic is
installed in a position where the viewers are encouraged to place
their hands on the piece. Once the viewers locate the beginning
points of the mazes (on the edges of the mosaic) they can trace
the pathways, with dead-ends, etc. to the end. The patience of
the viewer is rewarded because the ends of the pathways are heavily
textured fossils of fish, trilobites and leaves. Not only does
participation with this piece encourage and reward patience, but
it teaches a little natural science as well. It's exciting to
visit this site, and see that these pathways are soiled from the
many hands that have "viewed" the design and worked
the mazes. Not to worry, most of the hand stains can be cleaned
off with a brush and a little soapy water.
CD-68
9903 "Untitled" - Chapel of
Reservation, San Jose Catholic Church, Jacksonville, FL, 8' x 15',
1999.
Our design problem
on this project was to refinish the existing tabernacle, then
relocate it to a chapel that was redesignated as the Chapel of
Reservation. The solution included removing the tabernacle's old,
dull, lacquered finish of bronze and brass, then apply color to
the metals by the use of various patinas. The gold leafing of
the ChiRho and its outlining border gave the doors a greater visual
presence. The tabernacle was then recessed into a 12' thick mosaic
background enabling its doors to be flush with the front of the
stone. We added a shelf for placing the ciborium while the doors
are being opened. The design of the mosaic featured an abstracted
Celtic cross (the priest was Irish) which was executed in gold
smalti with the remainder of the piece being various species of
marble, travertine, many shades of onyx as well as slate and gold
smalti. Located within the center of the orb of the cross was
the eternal light. The forms and the background of the mosaic
were designed to bring the viewer's eye down to the location of
the tabernacle. Since this eternal light is visible from most
any location in the church, the location of the tabernacle is
known to all. This is a companion piece to the Crucifixion mosaic
(CD-23, 9408-b) located in their Daily Mass Chapel.
CD-11
9204-a "CREATION" - Chapel, North Carolina Lutheran
Synod Headquarters, 24" x 72", Salisbury, NC.
We wanted to develop
4 sets of triptych windows to be located on each side of the diamond
shaped chapel that adjoins the NCLS administration headquarters
site. The 4 themes were "Creation", "Baptism",
"Salvation" and "Resurrection". For the panel
that referred to the creation of mankind, we elected to depict
Eve being formed from one of Adam's ribs. For our own personal
taste, these windows are about as traditional and literal as we
care to design. However, since the style of the project was left
entirely to our discretion, the manner in which we treated the
figures became one of my favorites. As an artist, I have intellectual
problems with depicting exact faces of our subjects. Who knows
what they looked like? When figures can be depicted in a more
abstracted style, as in this project, I think it requires the
viewers to put some effort into understanding the window. I like
windows that engage people and make them a participant. I feel
that windows like these will be appreciated over a greater period
than ones that are just "pretty". Apparently, others
liked this window, as it has been published in several books and
magazines about the liturgical arts.
CD-13
9539-a "THE HOLY SPIRIT" - Lutheran Theological Southern
Seminary, Columbia, SC, 48' X 25' (irregular) Stained glass executed
in German antique and opak glass. 1998.
The architect for the
LTSS project, Michael Kohn AIA, provided a wonderful setting
for our window. This auditorium/classroom has a foyer that extends
very near to a street which forms the seminary campus's north
border. The window design reads through three intersecting planes
- the main entrance composed of two sets of double doors, their
transoms and an arched clerestory, and then the two clerestories
which extend perpendicularly to the right and left of the entry
thus creating an entire environment for this foyer. Because of
the orientation of the building, the space is filled with sunlight,
modulated by the stained glass throughout the day. The design
emphasizes that The Holy Spirit is indeed alive and working on
the LTSS campus. In addition, the window was executed with special
OPAK glass because of its special ability to not only transmit
light, but also to reflect some of its color back to the exterior,
even in daytime. This was important consideration because the
committee felt it necessary that the window not only minister
to the academic community of the seminary but also to the neighborhood.
* These are
all original works, commissioned by the State of Florida Arts
Council, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs.
CD-29
9529 "Untitled" - Heart of Florida Hospital, Haines
City, FL, 11' x 8', 1997.
This mosaic is placed
in a 12' x 9' x 1' deep niche in the entry foyer of a small community
hospital. The community is as the title indicates, located very
near the geographical center of the state. We intended to give
a Florida feel by the use of color incorporated into "architectural"
leaf forms. Again the liberal use of multicolored onyx, travertine,
and various species of marble provide the color. The use of gold
provides contrast both in color and texture. An interesting feature
of this mosaic is that it is executed on three separate planes.
Not only do the individual stones provide visually interesting
relief but the three planes of the mosaic add up to 9 inches in
depth. A very interesting piece for public viewing.
CD-52
9517-a "EUCHARIST" - Chapel of Reservation, St. Peter
the Apostle Catholic Church, Naples, FL, 19' x 8' 9" stained
glass executed with beveled and antique glass, featuring German
prisms, 1995.
This project immediately
stimulated our interest because the priest, Fr. Bob, specifically
requested that we design an abstract window. This does not happen
often in Florida. The window was to form a background for a beautiful
tabernacle and was to be placed in a Chapel of Reservation located
at the back of the assembly area. Fr. Bob had seen slides of
some of our MACROMICROCHIP window designs that feature 4"
x 4" and 2" x 2" German cast prisms. He was quite
taken with their ability to refract light. In addition to the
inclusions of these prisms, we included a beveled glass border
as well as some additional, very special, prisms consisting of
glass composed of about 33% lead (leaded crystal). The very high
refractive index of these prisms produce intense "rainbows"
that are projected throughout the chapel- the walls, floor and
ceiling. This helps an environment that reinforces the mystery
and awe of the tabernacle - and the presence of the host contained
therein. The main design element of the window, the arched form,
abstractly represents the host. In addition, some people have
commented, after viewing this window, that they see "the
body of Christ", partially formed in the background field
of prisms. Other viewers have seen a monstrance. This was unintended
in the original design concept, but is a very nice additional
feature and is a good example of one of the greatest benefits
of abstract design - different viewers see different things.
The window is set in two intersecting planes, with the point facing
the nearby road and community. As with all stained glass windows,
the intended viewing location is from the interior during the
daytime. Occasionally, a secondary benefit, that of viewing a
window from the exterior at nighttime can be achieved if a lot
of factors come together. In this project, interior lighting is
critically located ("cans" recessed into the ceiling
and placed close to the window plane). This down wash of light
falls onto the facets of the prismatic glass to produce a "sparkling"
effect. When passers-by see it at night, the image they see is
similar to what is seen from the interior in the daytime. You
don't see the tabernacle, but you see its shadow - you see where
the tabernacle is located. We feel that we achieved our goal
with this design; which was to create a background for the tabernacle
- not to compete with it - but to indicate its location and that
it is indeed a Holy place.