Gondwana Banana

Want to share a photo of your work? Or get feedback on a new piece? Post it here. (Note: items in this forum are deleted periodically, generally after several months.)

Moderator: Brad Walker

Post Reply
Ron Reichs
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2004 2:02 am
Location: New Zealand
Contact:

Gondwana Banana

Post by Ron Reichs »

A while back (must be nearly 2 years) I was making a multi media piece which incorporated glass, wood & bronze. I promised Morganica among other people that I would post a picture when it was completed. It has now been installed in a sculpture exhibition in NZ called NZSoS (New Zealand Sculpture onShore).
Originally it had a bunch of glass fruit cast as one piece. I was not happy with it & attempted to refire it with disastrous results. The glass components have now all been cast separately.
Here it is:
You can see many more images on my Facebook page.
Cheers,
Ron
GB - small.jpg
Leaf bud - small.jpg
Nana - small.jpg
http://www.greenglassstudio.com

"Waiatarua, the song of two seas"
Brock
Posts: 1519
Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2003 1:32 pm
Location: Vancouver, B.C.

Re: Gondwana Banana

Post by Brock »

That is absolutely gorgeous.
rosanna gusler
Posts: 730
Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2003 2:22 pm
Location: wanchese north carolina
Contact:

Re: Gondwana Banana

Post by rosanna gusler »

wow. just wow. rosanna
artist, owner of wanchese art studio, marine finisher
Valerie Adams
Posts: 587
Joined: Mon Apr 19, 2004 2:49 pm
Location: Santa Rosa, California
Contact:

Re: Gondwana Banana

Post by Valerie Adams »

Obviously good things take time; this is stunning!
twin vision glass
Posts: 570
Joined: Thu Apr 29, 2004 12:55 am
Location: Invermere,B.C. Canada
Contact:

Re: Gondwana Banana

Post by twin vision glass »

Now we know where you have been and the waite has been sooooooo very worth it. Amazing, fantastic , wonderful and well, simply stunning.
Leslie =D>
Give out Free Hugs!
website: http://www.twinvision.fusedglassartists.com
Barb R
Posts: 58
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2005 3:02 pm
Location: Ft. Collins, CO

Re: Gondwana Banana

Post by Barb R »

Wow - it's beautiful!

Barb
Morganica
Posts: 1079
Joined: Mon May 19, 2003 6:19 pm
Location: Portland, OR
Contact:

Re: Gondwana Banana

Post by Morganica »

Boy, did THAT come out well. It begs to be stroked--lovely, lovely coldworking.

So what were the disastrous results from the refiring?
Cynthia Morgan
Marketeer, Webbist, Glassist
http://www.morganica.com/bloggery
http://www.cynthiamorgan.com

"I wrote, therefore I was." (me)
jim burchett
Posts: 254
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2003 4:24 pm
Location: Lenoir, NC

Re: Gondwana Banana

Post by jim burchett »

Beautiful Pieces and the Total is spectacular.
"No, you cant scare Me, I'm sticking to the UNION. I'm stickin to the UNION till the day I die" Woody Guthrie
Ron Reichs
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2004 2:02 am
Location: New Zealand
Contact:

Re: Gondwana Banana

Post by Ron Reichs »

Thanks all for your kind comments.

First I'll tell you about the disastrous refiring of the bunch of fruit.
It was done in Bullseye cranberry. After coldworking the piece I was not happy with the excessive amount of bubbles (half bubbles) on the surface of the glass withe many more below the surface. If I coldworked the surface ones off, more would appear so I resolved to refire it in an attempt to eliminate as may of these as possible. After filling the surface bubbles with wax, I reinvested the glass & refired with a long soak at 830c
(16hrs) Unfortunately on the downwards ramp, the mould cracked & leaked half the contents over the kiln floor. This wouldn't have been so bad if I could have reclaimed most of it, remade the piece & topped up with new glass to replace that which was lost.
Unfortunately Bullseye cranberry is a striker & on the second firing it had gone liverish so no hope of using any of it again especially for a third firing.
With the new work I made each banana as a separate unit so I was able to use Bullseye amber on two of them & Gaffer orange red for the other two.
To eliminate bubbles I cast these horizontally in open faced moulds & carved off the excess glass after firing.
The results were much more pleasing.
I'll make another post to give the specs of thework.
Cheers,
Ron
http://www.greenglassstudio.com

"Waiatarua, the song of two seas"
Ron Reichs
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2004 2:02 am
Location: New Zealand
Contact:

Re: Gondwana Banana

Post by Ron Reichs »

Here are the specs. of Gondwana Banana:
Height: 2500mm
Width: 500mm

Materials:
Glass: Leaf bud: Bullseye casting billet amber 3.8kg
Banana x 2: Bullseye casting billet amber 3.6kg each
Banana x 2: Gaffer lead crystal orange red 5.1kg each
Total glass: 21.2kg

Wooden pole: jarrah (Australian hardwood) 1670 x 180 x 180 36kg

Silicon Bronze
Crown: 950 x 500 x 500 17kg
Roots: 950 x 450 x 450 17.5kg
Total bronze: 34.5kg
Cheers,
Ron
http://www.greenglassstudio.com

"Waiatarua, the song of two seas"
Brock
Posts: 1519
Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2003 1:32 pm
Location: Vancouver, B.C.

Re: Gondwana Banana

Post by Brock »

I just think this is one of the best pieces I have seen in years . . . amazing.
bob proulx
Posts: 186
Joined: Tue Dec 29, 2009 7:13 pm
Location: Nahant Massachusetts
Contact:

Re: Gondwana Banana

Post by bob proulx »

It is an amazing piece.
Bob
Warren Weiss
Posts: 137
Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2003 8:06 pm
Location: Richmond, VA

Re: Gondwana Banana

Post by Warren Weiss »

Beautiful.
Warren
Havi
Posts: 619
Joined: Wed Jul 02, 2003 6:01 am
Location: Israel
Contact:

Re: Gondwana Banana

Post by Havi »

Chapeau
and
Congrats,Ron.

I remeber you said you put some hundreds of hours of polishing...............
one can see the results!


Havi
Haviva Z
- - - - with a smile :)

"Speed comes from the Devil" - (an Arabic proverb)
Image
http://www.havivaz.com
Post Reply