Sylvia E LaksArtistry in Glass Studio | ||
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Artisans in stained / painted glass / fused pigment  The next stop was the studio of Sylvia Laks, a master of the medium of stained glass. As we entered the studio, we were in the middle of one of Sylvia's latest projects - a 60 foot by 60 foot stained glass window for a cathedral. Sylvia is renowned for being one of few persons practicing (and masterfully so) the art of “grisaille,” a technique of drawing and brushing metal powder onto the glass to articulate forms…faces, bodies, foliage, etc. This laborious process requires not only excellent drawing skills, but extreme patience and care in fusing the powder to the glass and then reworking it in several stages. The detail that results is remarkable, and sets Sylvia’s work apart from the others.  Starting from an overlay of the original design, to determine what shape and size the pieces should be...
Sylvia's studio is upstairs, and her artistry for fusing designs to glass (using the very old technique called “grisaille) is recognized internationally.  Grisaille is not the same as painting on canvas, where you add pigment. In heat fused glass painting, the glass is first coated on one side with the metal that will bring out the proper hue when fused in a high temperature oven. That day, Sylvia was sitting cross legged on the floor, carefully scraping away metal residue at the bottom of an eight foot slice of glass, working to achieve the desired and anticipated translucence after fusing. After very high temperature fusing, the glass is then slowly cooled over days, and then, cleaned. This process is meticuloulsy repeated until the desired colors, shading and intricate details are finally realized. Since the metals are fused into the glass and become part of the surface, the design is then permanent, and when backlit, the artwork is incredibly and awe-inspiringly beautiful!
Click here to see more samples - enlargements of Sylvia Lak's internationally acclaimed glass paintings.
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