ArtBuzz

Waves O' Glory Brazier: A New Water Motif for Spring

Design © 2007, John T Unger

 

The Waves O' Glory Brazier is a new design for spring based on a recent commission I did for The Episcopal Canterbury Fellowship at Mississippi State University. I liked the design so much that I've decided to make it a standard offering. The original was created as a container to kindle a paschal fire for  Easter Vigil, but just like the original Blaze O' Glory, this little grill makes a handsome addition to any deck, patio or garden.

Hand cut  from scrap 100 lb propane tanks, the Waves O' Glory offers an alternative to the Great Bowl O' Fire for those with limited  space or budgets. Whether you live in the city, suburb, or country, this brazier is a great way to take the chill out of spring or fall evening and extend the outdoor season.

The Waves O' Glory is also fun for cook outs. With more surface area than the Pot-de-Feu Grill, the Waves O' Glory works great for burgers, BBQ and chicken. Head over to Amazon and pick up a cooking grate, stainless steel skewers and tongs.

The Waves O' Glory ships disassembled. The top and base thread easily onto the stem and disassemble just as easily for storage or transport. A rust finish is standard, but you can paint the Waves O' Glory with high temperature engine paint if you like.

 

Waves O' Glory Brazier: Recycled Steel Grill
	36" tall Brazier: $325 price includes shipping for US orders in the lower 48 states. bowl is 14.5" in diameter and 12" deep, base is 17" diameter.
	Looking for something a little different? I can create a custom grill to meet your needs! Get in touch to discuss your ideas. Suggested Accessory:

 

 

Each Waves O' Glory Brazier is unique. I cut them all by hand, never repeating the same design. Indoors or out, the heavy steel needed to hold compressed gas insures that your grill will last decades with little or no maintenance. If you like the Waves O' Glory, be sure to check out the rest of the Recycled Fire Line by clicking the thumbnails at the bottom of this post. You might also want to check out the original Blaze O' Glory with flame motif. Features of this unique, hand-crafted design: 90% recycled content (stem is new steel) Safe and fun outdoor heat source Can be used for cooking with optional grill Heavy steel lasts decades without maintenance Each  is a unique, handcrafted work of art Water drains through stem to prevent rust damage Each  is an unique, handcrafted work of art, signed by the artist. The cut steel flames make great rests for cooking. Safety tips: Please note that the grill does get hot when used for charcoal fires and that the points of the flames are sharp. The inside of the grill can be rinsed with a garden hose or cleaned with a long handled wire brush. Allow grill to cool  before cleaning. Wear leather gloves when cleaning with a brush.

Shiny Happy Puppy: A Modern Take On An Ancient Mosaic

 

 

When I first saw an image of this "beware of dog" mosaic from Ancient Rome, I immediately fell in love with it. What appeals to me most is the disconnect between the warning aspect of the mosaic and the playful, happy appearance of the dog. So, last week, while Mya was working on her brown trout mosaic, I decided to recreate a version of the Cave Canem mosaic. I would have liked to use marble, but I think glass actually works better in this case, making the piece bolder and brighter.

The Roman mosaic I based it on is here. Although I worked directly from a printout of the image, there are a few things I changed. The most important change was to improve the andamento, the way rows of tesserae flow to emphasize the overall form. In the original mosaic, there were a couple areas where the tile was just filled in with no regard to the actual musculature of a dog. If you compare the flow of tile where the dog's right shoulder and rear leg meet the body, I think you'll agree that they look a little better than the original mosaic.

I had originally intended to inscribe the piece with the Latin for beware of dog, cave canem. But as I was working on the piece, I became more and more uncomfortable with that idea… for one thing, the dog isn't scary looking, which is what I like about him. He's playful. More importantly, I kind of feel like the world is far too full of warnings and dire threats these days and I just don't want to contribute to the culture of fear even on a minor level.

This is where it came in really handy to have a visiting Latin scholar. Mya is a classics geek of the first order, which is funny, really, since I on the other hand pretty much consider the dawn of time to be circa 1900. Anyway, she grabbed her Latin dictionary and we tried for a while to come up with something that would be more on the order of "good dog" or "happy puppy." Of course, going through a Latin dictionary, it becomes quickly apparent that almost all the words relate to politics, war and death. I'd forgotten what a totally militaristic world view they had, and have to admit to some surprise on finding that culture reflected so strongly in the vocabulary they had to work with. This is the kind of thing that makes being an artist so much fun really— you start out with a simple idea like recreating an ancient door mat, and by the time you're half-way through you're doing amateur cultural analysis based on how the words available to a culture influence what and how they can think. heh. (story continued below…)

 

Lupus Ludi, 2005
medium	Vitreous glass tile, Hardibacker substrate, steel frame
size	32.5" x 35.75" x .75" (frame dimensions) mosaic is 32" x 32"
availability	SOLD! Email me to inquire about commissioning a similar mosaic table or wall panel.
price	$1,800.00, Free Shipping via  FedEx Ground
	Purchase item for $1800

 

So we were a bit confounded at first. We came up with a couple possible captions, but I was making it more difficult by insisting that the new phrase should be as sweet, short, alliterative and assonant as the original. The best we could do with the dictionary was candidus catellus, which, with a stretch of the imagination can be translated as "shiny, happy puppy." Candidus is the root of our word candidate of course, and is normally translated to mean "white" (go figure). However, it can also mean shiny or happy. I figured it would be too confusing though on the whole, and besides, the letters would not have fit as well, nor did it have the proper assonance. So we put it hold for a bit and went back to cutting tile. Then Mya said something about a piece we'd heard on NPR where they were interviewing people about their relationship to the US government. One guy had said something to the effect that he really didn't care one way or the other about the war, the economy or stem cells, but he really wished that they would let him shoot the endangered wolves that were eating his cattle. And suddenly, bang, I had it. Lupus Ludi: playful wolf. Really, what I mean is "happy dog" or "playful dog," but I figure it's close enough. And it has all the linguistic aspects I wanted: short, sweet, easy to guess, alliteration and assonance.

I guess this is what happens when you lock a former poet and a classics geek in a room with a bunch of tile.

Frank Llloyd Wright Fence with Slate, Glass & Copper Insets

click thumbnail to view larger image.

 

The design of these Prairie Style fence sections was inspired by the Arts & Crafts Movement. The abstract floral pattern echoes Frank Lloyd Wright styled clerestory windows surrounding the courtyard where the original fences are installed.

This fence owes as much to Frank Lloyd Wright's central ideas as it does to his design motifs. The colors of the natural slate, iridescent glass mosaic tile and copper insets, along with the rust finish, accord with his philosophy of "organic architecture," which maintains that structures should develop out of natural surroundings. The use of materials for their natural colors and textures, as well as for their structural characteristics is also characteristic of Wright's thinking. The staggered placement of the fence sections within the courtyard allows them to enclose and define the area while preserving a sense of spaciousness. A glass wall looks out from the living room of the house into the courtyard, making the outdoor living space an extension of the indoor space.

Designed to withstand the harsh winters of Northern Michigan, this fence should last hundreds of years with minimal maintenance.

 

Frank Lloyd Wright Fence
medium	Steel, natural slate, vitreous glass, copper
size	48" x 48" x 1.5" (inquire for pricing on other size panels)
availability	by commission (see commissions page for details)
price	$1,500.00 per four foot panel
	Purchase single panel for $1,850 ($1,500 plus $350 S+H or installation).

 

Acrobats Dance Across Your Yard or Garden In This Fantastic Steel & Mosaic Fence

click thumbnail to view larger image.

 

The Acrobat Fence shown above is featured in JoAnne Locktov's most recent book on mosaics: Mosaic Art and Style: Designs for Living Environments.

The graceful figures cavorting along this fence suggest both the motion of their dance and the music that moves them. The obvious joy of these figures is engaging, but their simplicity is what really captivates us: we can easily see ourselves, someone we know, or the person we might like to be in this dance. My goal with this design was to capture the gesture of the figures such that the mind completes the movement, making a still image appear to be in motion. What also fascinates me about this design was the process of working with the negative space between the figures, to create another level of equally interesting pattern… the overall design strongly resembles musical notation.

The simplicity of these figures allows them to fit nearly any story or culture. Check out the wonderful garden fence I made for Howard Hast & JoAnne Olsen— telling the story of their life together through a series of narrative fence panels. Equally flexible, the materials are suitable for creating functional work such as fences, railings and furniture or more decorative projects such as relief murals. The construction of these panels is designed to withstand the harsh winters of northern Michigan, insuring that these fences will last for generations.

The prices above pertain to the design as shown. If you are interested in commissioning a unique piece to express your own story or ideas, please contact me.

 

Acrobat Fence
medium	Steel and vitreous glass tile
size	48" H x 120" L x 2" W (inquire for pricing on custom sizes)
availability	by commission (see commissions page for details)
options	The figures' heads can be done in vitreous glass tile or hand-textured copper
price	$1,500.00 per 10 foot length, 4 foot high or $1,200.00 per 10 foot length, 2 foot high
S&H	Call 231.584.2710 to arrange delivery + installation
	Purchase 10 foot length, 4 foot high. ($1,500). Delivery + installation billed separately.
	Purchase 10 foot length, 2 foot high. ($1,250). Delivery + installation billed separately.

 

Abstract Modern Ironwork Design Available For Commission

click thumbnail to view larger images of previous work in this style.

 

When I do custom work, I usually provide several drawings for a client to choose from. This drawing was an alternate design for some security grates I did for the windows of a Chicago residence. Although we went with one of the other drawings for that job, I would love to find an opportunity to use this one as well. I think it would make an absolutely stunning gate.

This design is open to many interpretations depending on what you're looking for. It can be be adapted for security grates, a repeating fence design, a wall-hanging sculpture or even a garden trellis. The black represents steel and the accent color represents copper or bronze. Because the design is so open-ended it's impossible to give a fixed price without knowing the size of the project. To discuss a commission, email me with measurements or questions and I will work up a bid based on your unique situation. Also keep in mind that with custom work, anything is possible— so if you feel that this design is inspiring but "not quite it" let me know what would make it just the thing for you!

 

Modern Design On Target
medium	steel, copper
size	scaled to your requirements
availability	by commission (see commissions page for details)
price	email measurements for a price quote