Sunday, September 25, 2011

Salvaged glass Miniatures

art glass ornament
The pieces above are 6 of the hundreds of these art glass miniatures that I have made. Over the years as a glass artist, I have been saving thousands of pieces of glass, all scraps from my projects. Until I started making these, I had no idea what to do with them, and the thought of discarding (recycling) them did not appeal to me. I guess that's the frugal side of me coming out, but I never could bring myself to take these out of my workshop. I had many boxes full of scraps and no plan to use them.


That changed when my wife an I were planning our wedding. Being very budget conscious we were trying our best to allocate our monetary resources in the most efficient way for our wedding, which meant that we probably wouldn't be doing much of anything for favors for our guests. Then my wife planted the idea of making a favor by using my boxes of scrap glass. I could use my stock of solder and other materials to make them, making it an affordable option for our wedding. So that's exactly what we did, and all our guests loved them! They compared and traded them, and became a conversation piece and brought our guests together. My wife and I decided then that they should be shared, and they are now a permanent part of the Szal Design Miniatures.


Each of these leaded glass ornaments is unique. They are made from small scraps of different types, textures and colors of glass. Some pieces may have a color theme (such as mostly blue & purple, for instance), but they are not created with any type of color or design in mind. Each piece is small, with between 3 and 7 pieces each (5 pieces on average), and each varies in size but with maximum dimensions under 3.5 inches by 3.5 inches.Their design is dependent on the glass scraps I have on hand, and my state of mind when I'm making them. I have no preconceived notion of what they will look like. My goal is to create a stimulating composition of glass. Some items may suggest a certain design, such as a figure or animal, but in my experience different people see different things in these pieces, which is the exciting thing about them. 


I hope you're excited by these as much as I am. It feels great to be creating wonderful and interesting art by using every scrap of glass that could so easily be thrown away. I am happy to make just one piece for you or make 100+ pieces. Please visit my Etsy Store for current pricing, and please contact me with any and all questions. Bulk pricing is available.

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