Client: McLaren Northern Michigan

Overview

Longshore Current is comprised of over 200 hand-pulled, hot-sculpted glass pieces suspended from the ceiling appearing to float through the air. Based on the water currents found in Lake Michigan which the hospital is on the shores of, the curling organic shapes pull your eyes into patterns that then break apart and float away in a breathtaking palette of soft transparent and opal blues.

Longshore Current 2021 40’ x 18’ x 20’ (LxHXD)

Goals

We worked closely with the architects, engineers, owners, and art consultant to create a spectacular focal point for the main lobby of the new addition to the hospital. The theme of water was perfect since the hospital sits on the waterfront. Out of reach, airy, yet bold, the artwork needed to fill the space but not be overwhelming. It needed to engage the viewer from every angle and invite them into the space to find peace and comfort. It needed to resonate with the locale and be the crowning jewel of the space.

Process

Made just for this space and constructed on-site, this is a uniquely site-specific work. Each piece of glass was hot sculpted at a 2000 degree furnace. Created in a variety of colors and shapes, each glass piece is also unique, coming together to create a canvas that moves the eye around the space.

It was a joy to work with the Distinctive Art Source team and the owners to bring art as a source of joy for those suffering and in need of healing.

Additional Information

Glass is a transformative material; it goes from liquid to solid, it can be clear or colored, and is both strong and fragile. It is a material full of contradictions and possibilities, yet it is also tabula rasa, a blank canvas waiting for me to fill with ideas. The process of working with glass is different from other artforms. It is very physical and interactive. I work with a team of people and like choreography, we must be in step with each other for the magic to happen. Glassmaking happens in the now. There is very little time to sit back and ponder. Unlike painting working with glass is not contemplative, it is hot and fast, visceral, and immediate. In my work I am fascinated with the idea of glass as molten material and how to capture the essence of glass as a liquid, that moment in time when the glass is filled with the grace and beauty only it possesses. My work is soft, feminine, and colorful. I play with simple shapes in space, seeing how things look hanging on the wall or from the ceiling or sitting on a surface. The forms I love to investigate are simple shapes form nature. Evocative, familiar patterns that invite the viewer into the work, to be captivated by glass the same way I am.