Saturday, June 03, 2006

Making the Rounds



My past life includes ten years as a glass artist. It was a long time ago, beginning in the late seventies. I lived in a small town in east Texas, Nacogdoches, and established quite a reputation for artistic glasswork of all types. The window above was originally installed in an interior wall of a seafood restaurant. That place closed a long time ago and the window has been lanquishing in an old barn. Through a series of circumstances I came back in contact with the owner of the defunct restaurant, who used to know both me and my son quite well. We talked about the past some, and that's when I found out that he had removed the window and stored it. My son Daniel and I worked on this project together. He was just a kid, but he showed remarkable artistic ability, which I encouraged. The owner of the window remembered us, and offered it to me, saying I could paint something for him one day in exchange.

I had a friend drive it up here this weekend, and it's crated on my back porch waiting for me to decide what to do with it. It's big, almost 4' diameter.

There are two pieces of glass, both are sandcarved in an underwater design, then they are sandwiched with the carved side facing in. It's a 3D effect when you look through it. I loved doing this project, and it brings back all sorts of happy memories of my son, so I am so thankful that it has made it's way back to me. Full circle.

2 comments:

Joyce said...

It's wonderful that you have such happy memories of your son associated with this work. I'm glad it was given back to you.

garyb50 said...

Wonderful story, especially after your Memorial Day weekend entry.