We have often used the tagline “art glass from cold to hot,” referring to the temperature changes glass processes through in the fusing cycle from room temperature to 1500 degrees. For this show it also reflects the reference  to stained glass as “cold glass” and to fusing as “warm glass.”  Mercurial can also refer to a volatile personality trait, which glass as a material always exhibits, no matter which technique is used. 

I have been designing with glass since landing a job in the stained-glass department of a local antique dealer in 1978. I added glass fusing design in 1982, and even though the focus has been on kiln-fired glass since Leonard joined Mercurial Art in 1988, I have always wanted to combine the two techniques. The visual pleasure of background movement behind a mouth- blown antique glass is impossible to replicate in fusing, but the intricate detail rendered in a frit painting is not realistic in a small stained-glass panel. When our scheduled artist for July backed out, the extra time available in my studio during the pandemic let me start down that design path, playing with combining clear textures in geometric patterns with the organic frit paintings from the fused grove series. The background behind these panels translates any movement into a dance  between the viewer and the outside world.    

As with any new design direction, more questions were created than answered. It will be rewarding to see where the concept can go from here.