Right: Ode to the Ancients: No. XXV, 2006, glass, cast, carved with battuto, sandblasted, acid-etched, steel frame, 8.25"H x 8.5"W x 6.5"D, limited edition of twenty-five.
Photographs: Ralph Anderson.
Donna Branch
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Artist Statement
My work is informed by patterns of color, form, and texture, which occur ordinarily in nature with such ease of simplicity, without artificiality, or constraint, that they heighten my sense of the mystery and spiritualism I continually find in the natural world around me. By exploring these elements, I continue to seek the graceful, yet powerful, nature of something that is much larger than me; something I cannot comprehend. My compositions explore color, light, texture, and depth using several traditional casting, lampworking, and carving techniques. Texture is imparted by use of inchiso and battuto, carving techniques achieved by use of a lathe and a diamond wheel. By exploring battuto I discovered ways to highlight elements such as color and light refraction. Battuto gives an unexpected visual and tactile characteristic to the glass and complements the simple forms I create. The depth produced by the "honeycombing" of the glass and manipulation of the carving directs the viewer's attention to areas of light, depth, color, or pattern. All of these convey my wonder in the smallest detail.