Fish of a different color?

[Babette (Shawn)]

The 2013 salmon run is dying down. I have been making the same old fused glass salmon pieces for years, to sell in my local gallery. Out of boredom I started thinking (again) ....Thinking of Andy Warhol's use of bright color and duplication of a theme (Marilyn Monroe, soup cans, etc.) So I made a series starring our local Salmon (of a different color) As it so happens the roofers were at my house repairing flashing, so I got some of their scrap metal (aluminum) And I had squares cut, then sandblasted and embossed a simple dot design on them. I then mounted the glass on the plaque, with clear silicon adhesive. I think it added an industrial-look, a bit edgy? My local "market" doesn't "get it," they won't let them in the door. I guess purple and orange salmon are not the "thing" around here? ...More glass art to leave to the kids when I pass on. To further increase my profit level I made a "crackle" version too.

[Brock]

Those are good.

[Vonon]

I'm not a Warhol fan but I find your salmon to be exceptionally cool. Perhaps tourists want a realistic version but I can see these gracing the walls of a local "watering hole".

[Judd]

No, these are great. Your gallery is too white-bread. Find another that is a little more funky and realizes that funky money pays the bills too.

[Valerie Adams]

Ditto; these are very appealing!

[Don Burt]

cool. thanks for sharing

[bob proulx]

Great job Shawn, nice colors.
Bob

[Babette (Shawn)]

Thanks for the positive feedback! I feel encouraged to push these...I will look into some restaurants and a different gallery. Does anyone out there hire someone to do their marketing? I'm really bad at selling my work!

[Sheryl]

I love these, very creative!

[Judd]

No, not restaurants. They get free art, they almost NEVER make you sales, the piece sits there forever (because they really don't want to replace their wall decorations), and if they break it you're tough out of luck. Find a cool gallery that will appreciate your stuff. Good luck!!!

[Chelseaglass]

Beautiful. I especially like the top grouping due to the waterlike "flowing" edges and rock bottom crackle.

[Kate Saunders]

I live in salmon country too, and this time of year is special. Love your take on salmon. Technical question: is the aluminum flat on top of the panel or did you bend the aluminum to fit along the sides too? I'm trying ideas out for mounting glass on panels. Thanks! Kate

[Kate Saunders]

Hmmm....tried to post but it got lost, I think, in cyberspace....
Anyway, I live in salmon country too and this time of year is special. Love what you did with the salmon and to be frank, I'm getting a little bored with salmon colored salmon. I have a question about the aluminum--did you keep it flat on the panel or did you bend it around the sides too? Nice look. Thanks! Kate

[Babette (Shawn)]

I have a question about the aluminum--did you keep it flat on the panel or did you bend it around the sides too? Nice look. Thanks! Kate

They are flat, I popped two holes in the center of each aluminum plate, then I ran a knotted wire loop behind, the knots face in against the glass and they are recessed in an embossed circular dot (just like the design element on the front border. The frames were very simple and enexpensive to fabricate. The glass was not so simple; each fish takes over an hour to "paint with powders" and the backplates for the non-crackle pieces were made with powdered glass on a single layer of sheet glass. This way I am able to mix different powders and get a more rich color and they are perfectly smooth. The end product looks very different than two pieces of sheet glass fused together.

[Kate Saunders]

Thanks for sharing! I sometimes glue my glass on top of panels, but often people think they're boxes (even when on a wall) and try to pry them open. The aluminum background would probably stop that. But more importantly, it's a great look.
Keep looking for an outlet for those salmon, perhaps in a more colorful part of the country!
Kate