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146 views • September 8, 2020
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REFLECTIONS ON ORNAMENTAL GLASS

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NEXT, WE MEET A MAN IN ENGLAND WHO IS REVIVING "REVERSE GLASS PAINTING" - A TRADITIONAL CRAFT THAT'S ALMOST BEEN LOST. OUR UK CORRESPONDENT JANE WERRELL FOUND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS RARE FORM OF ART. Once a flourishing trade, reverse glass signs made by hand, are now an endangered craft. The process includes, drawing, cutting, etching, then gilding and painting the reverse of the glass. Skills that David Smith is passing on to others. David A. Smith Signwriter and glass embosser “So it's hopefully going to stay alive. That's the main thing. It's all about keeping the craft alive.” The Heritage Craft Association has found that he’s the only person in the world, who is able to teach all of the processes involved in the craft. After a five year apprenticeship, he honed his techniques in the 90s on yearly trips to the "California conclaves" where artists from around the world used to gather and share skills at Rick Glawson's shop ... an American artist who specialised in gold leaf and reverse glass painting. David A. Smith Signwriter and glass embosser “You feel like you're in the past actually drawing, you know, creating a craft.” Each artwork can take from 20 to 40 hours, sometimes 100 hours - or more. Like this panel that took more than 4,000 hours. It incorporates 15 original techniques from the Victorian era, including embossing, and acid etching, as well as seven different carats of gold leaf. It starts with a hand drawing. These were airbrushed, then had dots overlaid on them, and were scanned in to get a vintage effect. David A. Smith Signwriter and glass embosser “I didn't want it just to be like a painting. I wanted it to suit the glass itself and all the other parts of the work. And so that's kind of way that's why I spent so much time tweaking every little element and trying to get the colours looking right.” It's destined for New York - commissioned by an Englishman who runs this hair salon in Brooklyn, among his clientele are David Beckham and Robert De Nero. He told Melina about the sense of history he wants to create in his store. Russell Manley Owner, Ludlow Blunt “Rather than just a glass cabinet, it's a beautifully crafted glass cabinet that's displaying stuff. And it's just more this sort of craftsmanship that went into interior design through that period that really stood out to me. And I wanted to help sort of replicate that in the stores here.” It’s an atmosphere he says is appreciated by clients and visitors. The panel is set to be delivered in November - put back from Spring this year because of the pandemic. He was on David Smith's waiting list for about five years before the process began. Russell Manley Owner, Ludlow Blunt "Then we really got stuck into the preliminary sort of designs and the sketches. And when I say sketches when Dave Smith does a sketch it's like a piece of art in its own right." David A. Smith Signwriter and glass embosser “I can't wait to see it. Because I've been stuck in this sort of area. This is only about three feet - working back and forth, seeing it at this sort of angle. So it'll be nice to be able to get it further back and be able to see it on the wall.” You may have come across Smith's work in the music industry too. (may insert here:"this is the route we decided to go") In 2012 he was commissioned by Sony Music and Columbia Records to design John Mayer’s fifth album cover. BOTH are on screen so probably no name bar needed here... John Mayer American singer and songwriter “Then he said there’s this guy in the UK, his name is David Smith. Check out his stuff. And yeah ok let’s see what it is. I clicked on it and there was some pencil work you’d done for a tattoo parlour - and as soon as I saw it I went here we are, and it wasn’t even exactly what I would have wanted for my album cover, but it had all of the signature marks of someone who is able to do that.” Smith's craftsmanship has brought him notable clients. And
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