MARIAN MONAS - GLASS ARTIST

I find the beauty and fragility of glass is an ideal medium to convey the preciousness of both these environments.

The more delicate, framed pieces explore my impressions of the subtler environment of East Anglia where I now live - the seasons and their mutable colours, the mysterious hidden and watery atmosphere of the Fens, the coast and wide skies…

METHOD:

The thick blocks are constructed of 13 layers of glass, fused multiple times to 860 degrees centigrade in a specialised glass kiln. Separate layers are designed and fused together to create perspective, using powdered and cut glass, stringers and high fire enamel paints. The final firing takes 40 hours.

The framed works are made from powdered and crushed glass with the occasional pre-fused stringer (pre-fused stretched glass). These works are constructed directly onto a kiln shelf and then fused. The high heat melts the powder causing it to clump together unexpected ways, forming holes in random(ish) places.