DESCRIPTION

TITLE NEON CLOUD

MEDIUM HAND BLOWN NEON

DIMENSIONS 11’ x 18’ x 6’

In 2014, Eileen Hassi, owner/CEO of Ritual Roasters approached me about creating a lighting installation for her flagship cafe’s remodel. The interior concept by architects Sagan Piechota was a compelling starting point to work from, and an amazing ‘container’ to fill with neon light. Considering how different sightlines change the piece, from all angles including across the street and up the block, was a critical part of the creative development of the Neon Cloud. I created the shapes working from both the achitects’ plan of the main service bar footprint and later, adjusted the shapes subtly to match the as-built survey of the beating heart of the cafe. I made sure each arc aligned with the exposed beams of the 100 year old structure revealed at the southern edge of the ceiling, which had been carefully exposed to the architects’ spec. The ceiling paint sheen reflects the neon just enough to soften the edges of where sculpture and building meet.

While I designed, fabricated and installed the suspension system hidden in the ceiling which made the seamless look of the Neon Cloud possible, Oakland based neon bender Shawna Peterson worked closely with me to bring this 3D suspended neon glass sculpture to life. We were thrilled when the piece survived a 6.0 earthquake the morning after glass install was complete!

Sadly, the Neon Cloud is no more: you can read about it’s demise here. Imitation, unfortunately, is not always flattery!