Valley Memorial Tree
Individual frit glass leaves made by hand cut stencils fused onto large colored glass tinted with additional frit; large photographic prints silk-screened onto glass with traditional glass paint; hand painted enamel and glass paint; textured/fused glass bark pieces; antique cut glass leaded in the traditional manner with lead came overlay and false points; and reinforced flat-steel mechanically anchored into existing steel T-bar frame.
Site-Specific & Architectural Art Segment (Site-Specific & Architectural Glass)
120 x 120 x 4
500
Materials List
Glass frit, fusible flat glass, lead came, 50/50 tin/lead solder, traditional fired glass paint and enamel and flat steel.
Installation Location
Valley Memorial Park 650 Bugeia Lane Novato, CA 94945
Collaborating Artist/Fabrication Team
Nzilani Glass Conservation designed, fabricated and installed the window. Lead designers/fabricators: Ariana Makau & Armelle Le Roux.
Artist Statement
The Valley Memorial Tree Window is a reimagining of an original design. The old, two-dimensional, south-facing window employed lots of clear glass which made it so bright during memorial services that the orientation of the interior furniture had to be turned 180 degrees away from the only natural light source in the building. Fabricated in the 1980’s, it was mainly copper foil with ill-placed, rusting support bars. Our new window acknowledges the client’s requests to filter the sunlight so it could be incorporated to invoke a three-dimensional landscape as a respite for persons remembering loved ones during a service. Our own challenge was to push the limits of the medium in size, scope and application while incorporating our knowledge of long-term preservation techniques. Our “one and done” install was contrary to the client’s previous experience of material failure. The design had a secondary requirement of being aesthetically pleasing in a myriad of glass colors and forms in the ten-foot diameter, nine panel scale; yet also recognizable in a black and white linear format of 2 inches as a small logo.
