Barely two weeks after moving to New York City, I applied for an open call at an art gallery in Brooklyn. A few days later it was official, I would be making my art debut at the Gallery After Dark blacklight exhibit at the Brooklyn Art Cave.
Phase 1: Planning the Design
Opening night was set for June 28th, giving me just under 4 months to design my piece, source supplies, and then cut, grind, and foil over 90 pieces of glass. Whenever I wasn’t unpacking my apartment, I was busy exploring the city, brainstorming patterns, and staring at my glass horde visualizing the color palettes I could create.
Since arriving in the Big Apple, I have been captivated by the architecture of the city. It was unlike anything I’d gotten used to seeing in San Francisco. The Art Deco details and sky-sweeping structures have me feeling more inspired than I have been in a while. So I knew I wanted to create something that screamed NYC but was unquestionably “me.” I decided to dedicate my first exhibit piece to this awe-inspiring city - where Louis C. Tiffany himself invented the copper foil technique I’m using today.
I spent two months finalizing my design on Procreate before even touching a sheet of glass.
To prevent my design from feeling dated I used vibrant pastels, ornate architectural glass, and a groovy black-and-white color scheme. Once I had locked down my palette, I ran straight to my friend Christine at Glow Glass to get the glow glass I would need for my design before getting to work in the studio with the glass I had on hand.
Phase 2: The Art Creation Process
Choosing to create a continuous pattern in the backdrop - split into 24 separate pieces - was a bold choice that almost made this design impossible to execute, but I loved this Morisco lace texture too much to give up.
Just look at it:
This glass, being thick and textured, was an additional challenge to work with. Sometimes the glass would break in unexpected, frustrating ways. Other times the pattern just wasn’t lining up. Every time I had to re-cut a piece that got messed up, I would need to carefully realign the rest of the finished glass shapes with the new glass sheet. This process alone took several days, as any small mistake could set me back by hours.
I didn’t start grinding any of the other glass until I had finished the patterned background 1) to make sure I was completely focused and unfatigued while cutting the glass and 2) because I would need to rethink my entire colorway if I couldn’t get the pattern to work. It was close, one more broken piece and I wouldn’t have had enough leftover glass to finish my design. Thankfully, I’m a bit of a perfectionist.
While learning how to make stained glass in the past 8 months, I’ve learned a hundred different ways to break glass - intentionally and unintentionally. I knew what to avoid this time around.
My least favorite unintentional method is dropping glass onto the ground from any height. From this point forward, I worked exclusively on the ground. Hunched over my carpet for 5 hours straight, I meticulously foiled all 90+ glass shapes.
Next, I carefully marked the front side of each piece to reduce my chances of accidentally soldering them upside down.
As a final insurance against messing up the square shape I wanted for my finished piece, I lined up my glass inside a pair of right-angled rulers and realized three little edge pieces were throwing off my entire design! My perfect square was anything but. I quickly removed the copper foil, cleaned off the adhesive, and grinded them down to the right size. Once they were cleaned and re-foiled, it was FINALLY time to solder.
Well, almost.
During my experiments with glow glass, I learned the hard way that flux stains can be difficult - if not impossible - to remove. Since I was working with a lot of glow glass, it was crucial to prep the porous side of the glass with a protective barrier. I applied a coat of wax on each piece to protect it during the soldering process and repeated this step between each round of soldering as I had to scrub the glass clean between soldering sessions.
The first round of soldering took two hours just to get a bumpy line of metal down. After each session, I ran to the sink to scrub off the flux with everything in my arsenal - baking soda, dawn dish soap, CJs flux remover - then waited a day before reapplying the wax and getting back to work. I did three rounds of soldering before I was happy enough with my lines to move on to the next step.
The process was time-consuming and often frustrating, but it taught me valuable lessons about perseverance and problem-solving in art. With just days left before I was scheduled to drop my art off in Brooklyn, I was finally ready to apply a patina, add a chain, and shine it up before packing it for its journey across New York.
Phase 3: Bask in the Glow of Opening Night
The gallery was bustling with art enthusiasts, accompanied by live performances and refreshments. It was exhilarating to see my glowing stained glass artwork displayed alongside pieces by incredibly talented, experienced painters. I spent hours engaging with other artists and visitors, soaking in their insights and sharing my creative journey.
As much as I love my artwork and am proud of what I was able to create for this exhibit, I am most excited about how much I was able to learn through the experience. I learned I CAN do hard things.
Phase 4: Go Big or Go Home
While I'm immensely proud of my debut piece, this experience taught me valuable lessons for future projects. I realized the importance of scale - my intricate design, though technically impressive, was smaller than I'd envisioned when displayed next to other artists' larger artworks. Moving forward, I'm committed to creating larger, more impactful pieces that will truly stand out in gallery settings.
This experience has ignited my passion even further. I'm excited to continue improving my skills and elevating my art in every way possible. The next time I display my glow-in-the-dark stained glass in a gallery, it will be larger than life - a true reflection of the city that inspires me.
Luckily, I got my first big commission as a result of the gallery and am currently creating my biggest piece to date.
Want to bring a piece of glowing NYC into your home? Check out my available artwork > FunkyFractals.com