I learned something new today. Actually a bunch of new things as I’ve been exploring permanent public art. For the last five years I’ve worked on temporary installations which I enjoy immensely. There’s something special about creating and installing a piece that has a short life span. Now, I feel ready to create more permanent public work.

I’m still intrigued by how we relate to ourselves, connect with one another and how the environment we’re in encourages (or prevents) us from making those connections. I guess I would call it the psychology of space, self and other.

This is Peter Kauffman from Peters Studio in Paderborn, Germany. Peter is actually my neighbor and works between Portland and Germany. Here he’s explaining to me the process the artist back in Germany used to make the glass samples (by hand!). The top sample uses translucent paint while the bottom sample uses opaque paint. I learned how the translucent effect is better used with natural lighting (oh, how I wish it were a sunny day!) whereas the opaque paint does well with back lighting and darker interior spaces.

Below are both panels before they’re fired. It’s hard to discern how the paint will react with the heat. And, colors react differently when put next to each other. I can’t remember which ones but Peter was telling me that some colors can’t meet up against others.

I also learned that I prefer the more transparent lines in black and grey rather than a solid black line. While the solid black line is very graphic and I think goes better with the opaque paint sample, the transparent lines have more energy. It was good to see the contrast between the different line treatment. It will help me as I consider different ways to use the effect.

Here are the samples back in my home office. Today is a moody, cloudy day. I’m eager to see how the glass changes as the light changes throughout the day. I’m interested in working with glass not only due to the permanence and translucency but also that it’s a 2 dimensional painting that will be installed in a 3 dimensional setting that has a 4th dimensional aspect in that the piece changes in space as time changes and vice versa. I am in NO way a physicist (I leave that to my brainiac little brother) but there’s something about the transitory nature of the medium – even though it’s also permanent – that excites me.