"Birds of a Feather II" Murrine Vase

A handblown green, blue, black, and white glass vessel, made using the ancient Venetian (Muranno) technique of murrine (patterned disks of colored glass). The result is a detailed pattern, with signature murrine inspired by peacock feathers. 

NOTE: This vase is currently on display at the Lehigh Art Alliance studio in the Juxtahub maker space in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. You can buy it there or here. If you purchase this piece here, there may be a 2-3 day delay in shipping while I retrieve the piece.  A portion of the proceeds of your purchase will go to support the great work of the Lehigh Art Alliance. 

Murrine are fabricated by first pulling canes (rods of colored glass), often complex canes with multiple layers of color (one studio day). Those canes are then assembling into a patterned bundle (another day), then heated in a kiln, picked up on a pipe, fused together and then that fused bundle is pulled out into a rod approximately a half-inch to an inch in diameter (another day). That rod is the broken or cut into disks (another day), which are called murrine. To make the piece, these murrine are laid out in a two-dimensional sheet, heated to fuse them together, and then rolled up into a three-dimensional object (another day). This vessel is one of a kind and was blown by the artist (David L Smith) with a unique shape and pattern. Because this is hand-blown, there are small bubbles and tool marks present in the piece. These are artifacts of the process and testify to its handblown nature. This vessel is a piece of art and is signed and dated (2023) by the artist.  Inspired traditional techniques, but also infused with contemporary flair, the vase is a treasure sure to be cherished by anyone lucky enough to acquire it. It makes the perfect gift for that hard-to-shop-for person on your list. It's for sure they don't already have this one-of-a-kind piece of art!