I began this piece at an advanced workshop with Sonia King and Emma Biggs in Dallas in August, 2006. I was a bit worried about taking an "Advanced" workshop- but should not have- learned lots- it was great! They are 2 of the best teachers. The piece has taken me about 50 hours to complete. I spent a lot of time thinking about this piece- almost a year in fact! The final design looks a lot different than what I planned. The concept of the slate "river" is there, and most of the material is the same- but I received such wonderful input about design from the workshop. I got a bit of insight about reflectivity and how to combine materials. The copper wiring looked too "new" - so I passed it through the burner on my gas stove- gave it a great patina! I am thinking about turning this piece on it's side, because I think the top is a bit heavy. One problem though- I "signed" it - with a tile "B" in the lower right hand corner- (I think it is cut off in this photo) - should have taken Sonia's advice and left space in all corners until I decided which way the piece would turned. I actually did not think that would be a problem until I was finished! The materials used in the piece are copper nuggets, slate, copper smalti, pebbles, marble, van Gogh tiles, safety glass and NZ paua shell.
