Stained Glass & Bike Taxidermy

Lighthammer — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 10:36:09 -0800

This year I participated in my first Open Studios event. It was the culmination of nearly four years of learning stained glass and the first time I've ever shown my work publically. In preparation for the event, I put together a website and my brother, a graphic designer, created a logo for my studio. In addition to glass, I brought along several pieces of my bicycle taxidermy. I created a couple of these years ago after seeing Picasso's Cabeza de Toro, but received quite a bit of encouragement to produce more for show.

About four years ago I took up stained glass as a hobby. My wife has always loved stained glass and I wanted to fill our house with beautiful things for her. I thought about signing up for a class, but the cost and time commitment were beyond me, so I bought a starter tool set, borrowed a bunch of books from the library, read tons of online articles, and watched every youtube video on glass technique I could. While I'm far from a master craftsman, I've done pretty well for a self-taught glass artist working in my scant spare time.

My bike taxidermy started as an experiment. A former tenant in my building had left a number of rusting bikes in the basement and a small hill of parts. I salvaged a couple of seats, stems, and handlebars, mounted them on plaques, and wrapped them in embossing foil. They've been on my walls for years, but recently my sister, an avid cyclist herself, encouraged me to start making them for sale. I'm not thinking of making a business out of it, but I've already sold a few and I'm hoping to get them into a local store for Christmas. If you have a bicycle you can't ride, but can't part with, I can taxidermy it so you will always have a tribute to your fallen mount.

By: cortex

cortex — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 10:36:25 -0800

Oh man, that bike taxidermy. That's great.

By: Lighthammer

Lighthammer — Wed, 04 Nov 2015 14:19:18 -0800

Thanks, Cortex! I'm trying to convince a local place to carry my remaining taxidermy pieces for Christmas.

Comments on: Stained Glass & Bike Taxidermy

Stained Glass & Bike Taxidermy

By: cortex

By: Lighthammer