The Totems

Magic, mystery and the divine ­ paying tribute to the unfathomable has long been a human occupation. The totems, like the shields, are cultural ceremonial pieces, each treated differently. Layers of overlapping glass are fused by intense heat, imparting a richness and shading of color not present in the heavier glass of the shields.

Steel plays a different role here, with rigid uprights on some contrasting sharply with delicate spindles of others. Taking its own stance is the “Blue Waltz” , designed to rock gently back and forth in a breeze, to apprehensive shudders.

The imagery in the glass is less precise than in the shields, more organic and fleeting, as the cultures pay muted homage to this magic receptacle for color and light.

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