Wednesday, May 20, 2020

BEAUTY: Glass and Neon--Laura Hart and Steve Archer

These beautiful and startlingly lifelike orchids are made from glass by English glass artist Laura Hart--but of course the neon centers give them away as a man-made object.

"Several years in design and development, the Orchis Exotica sculptures are the result of a union between 3D virtual sculpting, CAD (Computer Aided Design) and traditional glass making techniques. With tolerances of only 3mm between the petal layers, the advantages of 3D design technology and rapid prototyping come into their own. The sculptures begin life as virtual models, from which individual petals and the supporting ‘cradle’ are 3D printed in durable resin. The most complex lip petal shapes are reverse engineered in pliable silicone in order that they can be safely removed from final plaster moulds.

The bicoloured neon centres, created by Steve Archer, represent the flower’s reproductive organs and are themselves representative of a rare skill.

Having designed several neon art installations, I endeavoured to safely hide the unsightly electrodes, wires and transformers that are synonymous with neon, whilst ensuring the safe running, maintenance and longevity of the light source.

The resulting Orchis Exotica sculptures are simple to construct, maintain and situate as single artworks or as multiples for larger installations."


Unexpectedly, the scale of the orchids is quite large! Here, the artist stands below one of her creations.



http://hartglass.com/exotic-orchids/

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