Rainbow Arrow
Rainbow Arrow is the fourth sculpture in the Monumental Glass Series* of large-scale original works by glass artist Michael Bokrosh.
This magnificent work of art was cold sculpted from a single piece of transparent gold optical glass manufactured at the Pilkington Glass Works in the United Kingdom. Rainbow Arrow features over 120 carefully designed and executed facets of all sizes: each cut, ground, and highly polished to optical quality by Michael in his studio.
Michael began work on this piece in 2001, returning to it time and again over 20 years, to express the vision in his heart of a healing Rainbow Arrow which was revealed through his 40 years of Shamanic practice.
When creating the first three sculptures in the Monumental Glass Series, Michael allowed the placement and execution of each facet to be a spontaneous unfolding throughout the lengthy and labor-intensive creative process. As he worked with the optical glass, he allowed the personality of the emerging sculpture to guide the further placement of shapes and facets, resulting in a unique freshness of design that springs forth within each sculpture, allowing its own unique personality to literally shine through!
In Michael’s vision for the Rainbow Arrow, he made a design decision to explore another side of his own artistry and the potential in the glass, by pursuing a more symmetrical gemstone cut type of design. This design decision challenged Michael’s decades of glass cutting skills, and his patience, as the creator and birther of this stunning glass sculpture. Executing such a structured gemstone pattern on the large and heavy, yet fragile, Optical Glass blank brought Michael to face entirely new levels of handling, moving, and holding steady the glass for each of facets he cut. Each subsequent facet had to perfectly meet the previous ones, throughout the six stages of cutting and polishing that are required for each facet, without damaging any of perfect edges or polished surfaces that had already been previously created.
Michael further challenged himself to create a mechanical method to have Rainbow Arrow rotate by itself. This gives the viewer a wonderful kaleidoscope of each facet both refracting itself and then slowly blending into its adjacent facet leaving the viewer in awe of how this glass sculpture dances between rainbow colors and the deep transparent inner gold of this optical glass. To accomplish the rotation Michael inset a variable speed motor into the bottom of the Gold Quartzite stone base, which is the foundation that holds Rainbow Arrow. Rotating Rainbow Arrow then allows the viewer to choose a multitude of viewing angles or the ability to stop the piece and admire the golden light transmittance of this remarkable work of art.
The beautiful, rich color that gives each of the Monumental Glass Sculptures their transparent deep gold color comes from certain periodic elements that are added to the Optical Glass when it was made at the Pilkington factory. Optical glass is prized for its transparency and purity; that means no bubbles or flaws. Optimal lighting of this monumental glass sculpture with either artificial or natural sunlight will reveal a multitude of facets reflecting throughout the interior and exterior of the piece. Either of these lighting choices will bring forth a mesmerizing, delightful, and ever-changing viewing experience as this remarkable sculpture effortlessly welcomes and dances with the light. Viewing the Rainbow Arrow in direct sunlight allows the sculpture to blossom into its unadulterated beauty, with each sunbeam being the catalyst to bring the owner and viewer to an ecstatic experience.
* Monumental Glass Series in chronological order: Mergingold, Rainbow Portal, Golden Perseverance, Syskwan, and Rainbow Arrow.
FOR SALE: Please contact Michael for more information.
Dimensions: 24" W x 13" D x 64" H
Weight: 600 lbs.
