| David
Montpetit was born in Edmonton, Alberta. In his teens he developed an interest
in metalworking. After a long hiatus, devoted to his growing family of
four daughters, he revived this interest and also incorporated glass to
lighten the composition. In 1992 David’s art evolved almost exclusively
into the glass medium. He began making slumped and fused glass masks out
of recycled glass. His wife’s studies in anthropology and the Northwest
Coast Native tradition helped inspire him to continue taking his work in
new directions. A radical transformation took place when David started
collaborative work with Northwest Coast Native artists. This has led to
further explorations in developing his own designs. The sharing of the
visions resulted in a blending of innovative Old World technology with
timeless aboriginal images
Statement
from the Artist
Light
plays an important part in the perception and image created by the glass
through its capacity to refract it. David explains: “In my concept, I attempt
to achieve a more personal approach to working directly with the medium.
I’m trying to create a new vision, where the object in the glass can break
free from its restraints. I’m taking images and breaking them out of the
glass, without destroying the work. Essentially, the technique gives life
to the piece.”
About
The Artist's Work
The
process begins with a flat plate of clear glass, the thickness of the glass
depending on the design effect that is to be interpreted into the glass.
The glass is then “resisted”, where a heavy rubber mat with a glued backing
is applied to the flat glass, which completely protects this working surface.
The intricate line design is placed on the resisted glass and carefully
glued into place. The glass is now ready to have the design transferred
so that only the areas to be carved are exposed. To accomplish this, the
design is carefully hand cut through the protective rubber resist with
a sharp steel blade. The first parts of the design to be carved are peeled,
exposing the underlying glass. The piece is then moved into a sandblasting
booth where frosting and shading is accomplished with the use of a highly
abrasive aluminum oxide. When the carving has been completed, the remaining
resist is removed from the piece and it is thoroughly cleaned and dried.
Once
it is clean, the piece is placed on custom slumping steel molds and put
into a glass kiln, designed by David, where a combination of heat and gravity
form the final shape. After the firing, cold working techniques, including
polishing and glazing, are utilized. Texturing, stippling and sand casting
are used, as well as gold leaf gilding for some of the pieces. |
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