Picture yourself walking through a marigold field on a cloudless summer afternoon. The weather is warm, but not hot and the sun shines down gently. The perfect unfiltered and pure blue sky stretches above you on all sides. It reaches for the horizon where it meets golden yellow flowers dancing along with the refreshing and rhythmic breeze atop the most essential green of the earth. You are being mindful by being present in the moment. The natural environment inspires you to seek a connection between body mind and soul. You find contentment in your surroundings. This is the inspiration for our “Impressionism” vessel. A handmade kilnformed glass art object intended to inspire mindful awareness and conscious living.
Fewer Better Things
“Impressionism” is one object in a body of handmade glasswork dedicated to this concept of mindful art and decor. We at Camp Copeland Studio believe that you can live well, by filling your home with only a curated selection of objects that inspire you. This doesn’t mean that you have to live a minimalist life, but live only with what provides value and makes you happy. We call this concept, “fewer better things” and see it as a revolution to the mass-produced consumer experience that is the norm. One which ties directly to the problematic throw-away culture ideology, where cheaply made and priced objects are purchased only to be thrown away shortly thereafter, filling up our landfills. “Impressionism” not only invites you to bring the feeling of being content in nature into your home to spark joy but is also made in a sustainable way to help keep our landfills clear.
Sustainable Design and Art
“Impressionism” is a cast glass object created in an electric kiln from remnant material leftover from production processes in our art glass studio. For example, when we make our fused glass spoon rests, trays, etc. we are always left with remnants or cutoffs. These cutoffs could just be thrown away, but we’d like to prevent that from happening. Instead of filling the landfill with pieces of glass, we collect them in plastic containers sorted by color to help us reduce our carbon footprint. When I begin to create a new object in this body of work, I take out several bins of various hues and see how they look together. After some time playing and matching colors in our glass studio, I begin to form a concept. The glass is then stacked, piled, or sifted into a handmade mold where it will be heated to approximately 1520 degrees Fahrenheit to melt and cast into the finished form. The objects are then cold worked, ground and sandblasted, before being re-fired to a smooth satin polish.
Evidence Of The Artist’s Hand
As I mentioned above, the glass is assembled in a specific way before casting to create the intended design. Light blue casually curls into avocado green pools while golden yellow populates the entire work and invites the viewer to take a mindful minute for themselves. “Impressionism” is an abstraction of nature. A reconfiguring and reimagining that was designed and created in our glass studio. Because the object is formed in a handmade mold, variations and imperfections occur in the finished piece. Glass artists will typically remove these through various cold working processes such as using a wet belt sander or a diamond grinding wheel. I use these tools on other pieces, but not in this case. Since the objects are inspired by our relationship with nature, evidence of the making process and slight imperfections are intentionally left untouched, because I believe that there is beauty in nature's imperfection. I see the imperfections and evidence of the artist's hand as essential to the artwork. Small ridges are evidence of the molten glass seeping into the mold revealing the making process. Tiny air bubbles form holes reminiscent of small bug holes in flower petals and sides that vary in thickness mimic the way some stems of flowers or twigs grow.
Allow Yourself To Feel Contentment And Be Present In The Moment
“Impressionism” is intended to inspire you to interact with nature and be present in the moment. Take the walk through a marigold field, and allow the gentle sun to warm your skin. Sit in the soft undulating grass that is being orchestrated by the wind. Focus your attention on how the breeze feels on your cheek. Allow yourself to feel contentment in who you are and where you are in the moment.
You can view all of the pieces in this body of work on our website here. We will continue to create more and add them, so please sign up for our newsletter, connect with us on Instagram and Pinterest or subscribe to our blog. We’d love to hear your thoughts or questions. Please don’t hesitate to use the comments section or send us an email at hi@campcopeland.com.
Thanks for reading,
Alyssa and Drew