Shorelines : Leigh Francis
Leigh's latest collection was inspired by coastal landscapes. The cool blues and crisp whites shine within her chosen medium of glass. Leigh meticulously arranged and rearranged each piece until they came together for a beautiful collection of birds.
Leigh says some of her fondest memories are from the beaches of "Dauphin Island, AL to Pensacola, FL, Key West, FL and our beautiful Mississippi Gulf Coast." Each memory sparked a moment of clarity for Shorelines.
Fondly Leigh says, "fragments of coastal colors, sounds, textures and people I love are all infused into these sculptures." Leigh carries herself with a grace and elegance that is true to her Southern roots and flows from her hands into these pieces.
Leigh's daily inspiration is from "the divine beauty, harmony and abundance of my natural surroundings." But her collection was not without its hurdles. She says that while glass work is definitely an art form there is plenty of science involved as well. "The transformation from a cool solid to a very hot liquid then back to a solid must be gradual and precise. If glass molecules are combatting each other at different rates stress can occur, resulting in cracks or breaks, so the firing schedule must be very carefully planned." Wrestling with time, temperature, and glass is a feat Leigh conquers regularly though.
"In building layers of colors, textures and patterns, the goal is to bring a story to these three dimensional canvases and ultimately evoke peaceful feelings and memories not only for myself, but also the viewer. Just as water meets land at the shoreline, it is my hope that the viewer and my art can meet and connect on a deeply meaningful level," says Leigh.
Catch her new work in both galleries today.