So Nice I Made it Twice

 In 2018, I posted about Isola.  I bring it up because I want to make a point about something.

And that something has to do with love and value.  "Isola" is unsold, meaning no one asked me to fix her. 

While I did successfully get money for repairing the damage from the shipping company, I could have pocketed the money and not done the repair.  Of course, if I fix it, it can be for sale again. But to some, she's damaged goods. Which strikes me as a shame.

Do we call humans who have suffered "damaged goods"...well, sometimes!  But judge not lest ye be judged.  We are ALL damaged goods!

To me, Isola is priceless and always will be.  And the fact that she was damaged does not decrease her value, but INCREASE it.  Why? Because I think when an artist loves something enough to fix it, it means something.  She is more loveable because she has suffered.

Have you read Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote by Jorge Luis Borges?  The story of told in the form of a book review.  Pierre Menard is an author who has rewritten Cervantes' Don Quixote word for word.  An exact duplicate.  But the reviewer makes the case that Menard's text is actually better than the original.  Why? Because Menard's method was to labor intensely over every single word in the book and to ultimately decide in favor of using it. Funny, right?  Totally. But it speaks to why redoing the parts of Isola exactly as they were done originally means more than doing them the first time.

New parts cut out

New parts in progress

New parts for figure complete placed next to broken ones for comparison

New parts complete (so far)

 

 

Some other thoughts:

She is one of increasingly few figurative works by me. I do not think I will ever outdo her face.  Maybe equal it, but just look at her!  Am I bragging?  I don't think so--I feel I am incapable of having done this myself--I was channeling a higher power for sure.  They get the credit.  And while I can re-make her, I cannot conceive of her again, if I ever did in the first place. She was an accident, after all. 

Her face is the essence of serenity and acceptance. Her posture, the essence of inscendence, interiority, integrity and unity.  Her situation, the essence of, well, what it must be like to be on a tiny island of beauty and danger.  Maybe you see none of this, it matters little. I am sure you see something.

I Despise the Sound of Breaking Glass

 So, this happened.

I shipped a piece to Europe and it arrived smashed.  I'll bet you want a forensic analysis of what I did wrong!  Well, I had a crate made and it was a good crate (wooden box packed inside a bigger wooden box).  Maybe it could have been a little bigger to accommodate more rigid foam--but I didn't think so at the time since I have received much undamaged sheet glass from Europe packed in a whole lot less.  

I shipped it using a big international shipper--not an art shipper.  Maybe not the best idea, but affordable. Again, that's how I have received sheet glass. Always unbroken, and sheet glass is much more at risk than a stained glass window which is made up of much smaller  pieces.

Upon analyzing the damage to the crate and the window, we (Myself, and experts Rick Prigg and Glenn Carter) determined the crate had fallen over and remained horizontal while traveling.  This accounted for the smashing, which was due to shock and then the clam-shelling which is what happens when the broken pieces rub against each other repeatedly.  Horizontal is always bad for stained glass and the labeling on the crate didn't result in anyone righting the crate.  (Solution: next time, add plywood wings to the bottom of the crate so it can only ride upright.  This is what the person who shipped it back to me did.)

"Isola" in all its unbroken glory

I wanted to restore the window because I feel it is one of my best ever.

Broken pieces marked with an "X".  However, the large piece under her feet is also broken but I didn't know that until later as the breaks are so clean.

I was able to claim $ for the repair from the shipping company. Yay me.  I was very surprised, actually, as I had been told entire skyscrapers in Omaha are dedicated to offices of people who's sole job it is to deny claims.  They were very nice, actually.

Here are some pictures of the first step of restoration, which is to remove the broken pieces by unsoldering them.  This is NOT easy or simple. In fact, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.  A loathsome process! It took hours and hours to remove them because it must be done very slowly and carefully to prevent further damage.  It takes two people. Two ridiculously patient people. The person you see here is Rick Prigg who is truly an expert (as well as one of my best friends!). He runs Sycamore Studio and Gallery 26 in Lansdowne and if you need  stained glass windows, newly designed or damaged ones repaired, I highly recommend him!

Below are some pictures of the de-soldering process.  Stay tuned for more posts regarding the restoration of this piece!!

Uncrating the piece

The pieces had been stabilized for return shipping with very sticky plastic sheets which needed to be removed first.

Beginning to unsolder (damn, its messy!)

 

Isola unsoldered.

 

Removed broken pieces.  The figure, the water and the sky will be totally remade.

Top: broken pieces Bottom: Broken pieces pushed together.  Since the break is so clean and the section so difficult to reproduce, this section will get hxtal-ed back together.  Hxtal is a glass glue--stronger than glass, actually.  When its complete the naked eye will not be able to detect any cracks.