Although my poetry is quite descriptive, I as a writer, can find it quite difficult to express emotions within my poetry in a way I feel illustrates how I feel accurately, especially when deep emotion is involved. My idea was that if I wrote a poem about a sensitive subject to the best of my ability, then illustrated that piece in glass, using glass fusion and then described the process of making the piece and how then how it made me feel after completing it, that I might be able to get better in touch with my emotions and express myself better within my poetry.

My final piece for my Gold Arts Award incorporates my developed skills in both poetry and glass. At the end of the project I felt I could indeed express my deeper emotions easier and furthermore, I felt that I developed my glass fusing ability as a glass artist significantly; as I learned more advanced techniques to improve the quality of my work and grew in knowledge about glass as an art form.

My Final Artwork

Final pieces 1 of 4 - Poem to illustrate in glass:

Butterfly child

Flowers gently dance in the wind,
That sings a lullaby,
To rest,
Now that the Sun's light fades,
Revealing the dark, and jewelled void,
As he relinquishes his throne of the skies,
For yet another night,
Unheard by the living,
Calling out to the butterfly children,
Condemned souls,
Who never had the chance,
To see the sky,
Laugh,
Play,
Breathe,
But instead,
Were gifted with butterfly wings,
And the promise to live the life,
They had been denied,
And as they sleep,
They linger,
As an echoing memory,
Within their families,
Remembered,
Treasured,
But unseen.

Final Piece 2 of 4 - Glass Illustration of the poem:

Final Piece 3 of 4 - Poem discussing the creation of the glass:

Fire Butterfly

Shaping life,
Shimmering glass wings,
Glinting in the light,
Reflecting,
A deep,
Unadulterated,
Euphoria,
Flows through me,
Powdered frit scattered across the glass surface,
Copper flowers,
Fertilised by a clear adhesive,
Grow and spread,
Across the blank surface,
Like that of,
Undamaged innocence,
Confetti glass,
Kaleidoscopic in the light,
Fragile to the touch,
Splinters,
Unseen, serrated edges,
Swollen, ruby droplets,
Well up,
Fingertips stained with shed blood,
Pain sears through my skin,
But I experience no regret,
And it is quickly forgotten,
The glass butterfly,
Now reaches the ultimate stage of its birth,
When it must be sacrificed into the hellish fires of the kiln,
Retreating into its cocoon of a brilliant blaze,
And when it emerges,
The metamorphosis will be complete,
And I am done,
Creative exhaustion overcomes me,
I am spent,
Finished,
My artistic expression is satisfied for this night,
And I fall into a deep, restful sleep.

Final Piece 4 of 4 - Poem discussing experiencing the finished glass piece:

Butterfly

I am filled with trepidation as the hellfire is finally appeased,
And as the kiln is opened,
It reveals my butterfly,
Unscarred,
By the ravaging calefaction,
Its metamorphosis complete,
Its wings,
Shimmering in the well-lit studio,
And the butterfly is silhouetted in the dark,
As it is held to the sunshine,
Still warm to the touch,
A smile of satisfaction plays upon my lips,
I feel relief,
It is how I visualised!
The tempered glass,
Has blended,
And merged together,
Forming a single determined piece,
Confetti glass,
And aventurine glass,
Glitter, as they catch the light,
Gold and pink flowers,
Fill the white void,
Of the backing glass,
The copper flowers,
Once brilliant in colour,
Have now grown old,
And withered in the heat,
Dappled but still beautiful,
Their imperfection is perfect,
The solid markings of the butterfly,
Clearly defined,
The experience of completion fills me with pride,
I have made something which demonstrates my development as a glass artist,
And I am charmed,
And exuberant with delight.