8” x 10”

"Visions" 

Inspired by a chocolate opal, this gemstone is symbolic of imagination, boundless creativity, and embracing potential while remaining grounded in one's self. Visions captures the earthy essence of this natural gemstone with the radiant characteristics of its sparkling sheen. In shaping this sculpture, I created areas with open cavities in the formation to represent looking through the windows of life - recalling the past and envisioning what's ahead - as a personal connection in celebration of my ten-year milestone

About Elijah Kell’s Crystalline Series

Sculptures designed to reflect the textures, shapes and characteristics of geodes, crystals, and natural rough gemstones. Individually crafted with hand crushed glass fragments, sifted and layered in varied densities, and free formed to create their fluid shapes. Each sculpture is kiln fired and cold worked to its finished size, texture, and formation.

About the Process:

All of my sculptures are designed, crafted, fired and finished in my workshop located just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina.  

With my CRYSTALLINE series, each sculpture is crafted entirely with hand crushed fragments and bits of glass. The glass is crushed into different sizes, sifted, and then layered in varied densities, shaping and forming as I go. Many of these works feature open cavities where I've allocated space in the design for the glass to stretch and drip as it becomes molten while still holding to the planned formation. This technique is my most difficult to get right. Constructing the piece is a meticulous process because my intentionally imbalanced areas have to be perfectly balanced within the overall design; if not, the sculpture risks collapse during the firing process.

Depending on complexity, it can take up to ten days to complete a single sculpture from concept, design, construction, firing cycles, and the finishing process. Each one is an individually crafted work of art; no two are ever exactly alike.

With all of my works, forecasting how the glass will pull, expand, and meld during the heating and cooling cycles is essential from the start. I'm working backwards through a creative process that requires both prediction and precision. Sometimes I get it right and sometimes I don't, but the risk of failure never outweighs my love for the challenge.