I had a request recently from one of the resorts on our Kohala coast to show them samples of recycle glass trays for the "green" bungalows. If they like what they see they would order a dozen or so. I felt since I hadn't secured a job in the accounting field yet this project was something I needed to pursue.
OK, simple enough. I'd create a plain, as in no color, prototype made from recycled window louver glass. You may also know this as glass from jalousie windows (see photo). Almost every building in Hawaii has these types of windows due to the need to control intermittent breezes to cool a home or business.
I've been given bundles louver glass in varying lengths over the years. It's nice to work with since it is fairly thick and comes in consistent 4-inch wide strips. Almost all of the glass I am given has some amount of cleaning required because it is used, however the louver glass always comes with fine paint specks. The most common method for painting buildings is spraying so the glass come to me with a fine layer of paint that I must scrape with a paint scraper.
One of the many benefits of working with recycled glass, besides it being basically free is that I get exercise for my arms when scraping the paint from glass. I always try to look at the positive side of any situation.
Louver glass comes in a variety of styles and colors. There is the basic style that is clear, then is comes with a tint, kind of a smoky grey, plus textured clear. For this project I used a clear glass that was textured on one side. I fused/slumped two layers with the texture sides facing each other. The finished pale green tray had very small sparkly bubbles that were captured within during the fusing process.
It is so much fun getting back into working with glass after almost two years as an accounting student. And BTW the hotel loved the look of the trays, but decided to pass on the project at this time because they hadn't figured out how they were going to mount these in the shower stalls? So I learned from this project to ask more questions before offering to produce custom samples. Plus get a deposit for production of prototypes.
Since I was on a roll I made more of these trays, adding color and embossed design elements. They are available for sale at the Firehouse Gallery.
