Story of My Artwork

 I have been in the process of having the story of my artwork be edited by myself and another person over the last couple of years.  Whenever an artist applies to juried shows, applying for art shows, etc. one has to submit Artist Bio, Artist Statement or other information pertaining to her process and other information.  I have always had a difficult time with these until recognizing that synesthesia is the underlying source of the visual imagery I put on canvas and glass.

Here is the current version of a short bio that has been revised over several years. Bio is written in 3rd person and usually has info such as education, awards, art influence and process, etc.  I tend to stay away from indicating these things and try to produce a story pertaining to the artwork that will connect with the viewer:

Born in Anchorage, Alaska, in 1970, Isaac D. Smith is a visual artist now based in Washington State, where he has lived since 2004.  His creative vision is shaped by a rare sensory phenomenon: the ability to see colors and images while listening to music.  Only recently realizing the uniqueness of this experience, Smith has embraced it fully in his artistic practice.

Working in both oil painting and glass, Smith translates sound into visual form, producing compositions that combine luminous transparency with bold opacity.  His works explore movement, rhythm, and the emotional resonance of music, often described as "nourishing the soul through a symphony of light and color."  Each piece serves as a bridge between auditory and visual experience, allowing viewers to enter a world where music and imagery converge.  Smith's art invites reflection, contemplation and joy.  His canvases and glasswork evoke harmony and vibrancy, encouraging audiences to consider the profound connections between sound, emotion and vision.

Stained Glass Views

 I was soaking in our tub the other day and to my right and left are glasswork that I had installed, one last year and a couple approx 11 yrs ago.

This last one is the reflection in the water which is a nice, calming affect
Very relaxing and enjoyable viewing these while relaxing in tub.

Glass Panel Installed, Interior Door

 The glass panel is now installed into the interior door frame.  

Here are some different angles and details:

Very happy with how this turned out, love the bevels and how they create dimension and light play.  Really has a lot of movement to it.

Bonding Glass Completed!

 Bonding the beveled color pieces onto the clear bevels is now completed. 

The panel is still on the table so there is no back lighting.  The following is what the panel looked like before bonding the color pieces on.

Next up is installing the panel into the interior door frame which is scheduled for this coming Friday.

Day 4 Bonding Glass

 Got a couple of the triangle shapes bonded on yesterday.

The first image shows the UV adhesive that gets squeezed out and has to be cut and cleaned off.  

The next image is a closeup of the bevel.

Couple different angle shots.  Don't get the full affect until the panel gets installed the the light coming through the glass.

Day 3 Bonding Glass

I did get to squeeze in a little time today and got another glass piece bonded.  

 

Autumn Equinox and Bonding Glass

Today is the Autumn Equinox and it was the perfect day to start bonding the beveled color glass pieces onto the clear bevels of the large glass panel I had been working on a few months ago.  I am finally at a good point with all that has been happening to start this part of the project.

 My goal is to bond 1 - 2 pieces on the days in which I work 12 hr nights and then on my days off I will do more.  I plan on installing this door panel by mid October.  This is a tedious process and will take considerable time.  The 2 red/orange color pieces took 45 minutes.  The outcome is definitely worth the effort.  

Busier Summer Than Expected!

 Hello to All! I figure I better check in!

This summer has been much busier than expected with getting one son ready for college, work schedule, projects around the house, emergency projects, etc.  

In regards to the large interior door I have not been able to proceed with bonding the beveled color pieces on top of the clear bevels.  Starting mid September I should be back on schedule with older son away at college and younger starting school.  I will start posting images once I am further along with the bonding.  After that will be installing the panel into the door.

Thank you for your patience!

Isaac

Glass Colors all Polished!

 Very excited about all of the glass color pieces now polished, completed!

One thing I really enjoy about beveling glass that has different color that is fluid through the center of the glass is that whatever color is under the top/bottom layer pops out in the bevel.  The above pics show how the purple is on surface and is clear underneath which shows up in the bevel.  The next few images show how the white which is fluid through the center of the glass comes out in the bevel sections indicated in yellow. The white flakes on surface of glass is the powder left over from the polishing process.  It will all be cleaned off later.

Side note:  The bright white in the bottom left corner is light reflecting off the glass. The same thing in bottom image left of the yellow circle.

Color Pieces Being Beveled

 Life has been a little hectic lately resulting in being a little behind schedule in beveling the color pieces for the Interior Door stained glass panel.  I did start and completed the first phase of beveling (Roughing):

22 of these to bevel, 3 more stages to go.  The goal is to have these completed by the end of the week and then clean the panel followed by bonding the color pieces on top of the clear bevels throughout the design.

Traditional Stained Glass Process- Puttying / Cementing glass panel

 I have been working on puttying the panel and just completed the back side.  This is a traditional process in using either lead came, zinc came, or other type of came that the glass fits into.  There is a space that the putty/cement fills in that used to be for weather proofing a stained glass panel as well as making the panel more secure, stronger.  

I will be cleaning up the excess and let it set for a couple of weeks as it dries.  While that is setting up I will be beveling all the color pieces that will eventually be bonded on top of the clear bevels.

Colored Glass Cut for Clear Bevels

 I am now cutting the colored glass to the shape of the center portion of the clear bevels.  They will be hand beveled after I putty the whole panel, both sides.  After the cleaning of the panel, the color pieces will be bonded on top of the clear bevel.

Next up is puttying the panel on both sides and let it set for a couple of weeks.  During that time I will be beveling the color pieces that will be bonded on top of the clear bevel.

Soldering Completed

I have completed the soldering both sides of this large stained glass panel for an interior door.

I take time on soldering to create smooth and seamless solder joints.  

The pen line on the triangles are for the color pieces that will be cut and bonded.  Later they will be bonded on top.   

Completed Piecing Together Glass Panel

 Finally completed piecing together the stained glass panel for the Interior Door!

I really like this design, the flow, movement, color!

Far from being completed, next up is soldering all the joints front and back then putty both sides, followed by cutting color glass the size of the middle section of each clear beveled piece. While the putty sets for a couple of weeks I will bevel each color piece, then clean the panel and lastly bond the color pieces on top of the clear bevels.  Once that is all completed the installation will happen soon after. 

Last Set of Bevels for Glass Panel

I have been working on the last set of bevels needed to continue and complete piecing together the stained glass panel for the interior door.

The first 2 stages (roughing, smoothing) are complete, 2 more to go - pre polish and polish. 

Interior Door Stained Glass Update

 I completed the last batch of bevels, pieced together more of the panel.  

I have cut the glass for the remaining 7 pieces that need beveling.  After those are completed then I will be able to finish assembling the panel.  

Sunlit Glass!

This morning when the sun was rising, the glass in the kitchen lit up and the image appeared on the window shade.  I love the effect of this!  I noticed this on a window in a different house we had many years ago and I make sure I have this same type of shade that I purchased in Japan to get this type of effect.

 Fun how the textures appear on the shade!

Fabrication Progress- Interior Door Glass

 Here is the progress so far on the Interior Door glass panel:

I am now at a point where I need to create more beveled pieces to continue the process. This will take quite awhile to complete as there are more of them than the first set of bevels that were completed earlier.

Polishing Bevels

 Begun the process of polishing this current set of bevels:

Once these are all completed I will go back to piecing together the panel in certain sections until I get to a point where I will need to bevel more shapes.  

Glass Beveling, Stage 1

 Today I started hand beveling the pieces shown in previous post.  This first stage entails getting the initial angles in the glass, grinding glass away to the width and angle desired.  

Because of grinding glass away there are tons of scratches in the glass which create the cloudy feel.  The next couple of stages will be more of a finesse in smoothing out/taking layers away to get rid of those scratches.  The second stage is smoothing followed by pre polish and finally polish.