The Birdcage

A few years ago, I started on a glass/metal sculpture project called "The Birdcage". It was conceived as a metal birdcage in traditional form, and with kiln-formed and engraved glass inside. However, once I had made the cage, I turned to other projects, and took the birdcage to the Charente, where it hung over the staircase. As time passed, the raw steel slowly rusted to a fine red colour, and because of its position, it catches the early morning sunlight through my window, so for about half an hour on an early sunny morning, my birdcage is flooded with light.

One particularly sunny morning, I suddenly noticed the interactions of the shadow of the birdcage and the stone walls of my studio- the low red morning sun shadows on the light sandy stones created abstract patterns that I thought I could use as input to my etchings:

I hope to be able to use these images for my etchings and also for more sculptural bottles. Because the sun is never in the same position throughout the year, there's an infinite possibility of interaction between the old stones and the sun's rays transmitted through the birdcage

Page last updated 24 September 2007