-- Schilling Glass continues its ongoing exploration of glass, light, and image construction through a recently completed accent lamp featuring a dual portrait of Gunner and Paige. The work reflects a technical and conceptual challenge centered on translating human likeness into a multi-dimensional glass form using electrostatically applied powder glazes.
At Schilling Glass, accent lamps are created using clear glass cylinders as the foundational medium. Powder glazes are applied without fluids or paints, relying instead on an electrostatic charge to guide each individual color. Every glaze layer follows its own trajectory and must be heat-cured independently. As additional colors are applied, previously cured layers are protected with heat-resistant tape, allowing images to build gradually across the surface. When illuminated, the resulting Mood lighting glass lamp projects layered color, shadow, and motion through the surrounding space.
“Clear glass is the vital dimension in my palette,” said a spokesperson for Schilling Glass. “Because the cylinders have no edges, images don’t stop or resolve in a traditional way. They transform, overlap, and recombine as the viewer moves around the lamp.”
Among the more demanding undertakings documented by the studio is the creation of portrait imagery on glass. The Gunner and Paige lamp represents a dual portrait of the artist’s grandchildren—Gunner, nearly twelve, and Paige, eight years old. The design process began by converting photographs into line drawings, which were then reinterpreted as portraits influenced by constructionist principles. The portraits emerge through multiple glaze overlays rather than a single finished image.
The lamp is illuminated by an LED light housed in the base, allowing color fields and facial structures to shift visually as light passes through the cured glazes. This interaction between illumination and material positions the piece as both sculptural object and Mood lighting glass lamp, emphasizing atmosphere rather than fixed imagery.
Schilling Glass developed its glazing and curing techniques independently, enabling the creation of lamps that remain materially consistent yet visually singular. No two works follow the same sequence of color application, and no final image can be replicated exactly due to the behavior of powdered glazes during electrostatic placement and heat curing.
“The process doesn’t allow for shortcuts,” the spokesperson added. “Each layer responds to the one beneath it, and the glass itself becomes part of the image-making.”
The Gunner and Paige lamp stands as a documented example of how portraiture, light, and glass can intersect without relying on traditional painting methods, reinforcing Schilling Glass’s continued focus on experimentation within illuminated glass forms.
About the company: Schilling Glass is a studio practice focused on the creation of one-of-a-kind accent lamps formed through a proprietary glass glazing process. Using clear glass cylinders as the primary medium, powdered glazes are applied electrostatically, without liquids or paints, and individually heat-cured in layered sequences. Each color follows its own path across the glass surface, allowing images to evolve, overlap, and recombine.
Contact Info:
Name: Terry Schilling
Email: Send Email
Organization: Schilling Glass
Phone: 92603-3714
Website: https://schillingglass.com/
Release ID: 89188584
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