Marian Fieldson Works

Marian Fieldson learned glass fusing at the Pilchuck School in Washington and now lives on the slope of Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii.  “I am fascinated by the liquid effect of the molten lava and its affinity with glass to capture the feeling of the Earth on fire and the undulating cooling surfaces.”

She takes the patterns for her kiln casts from the lava flows in Puna on the Big Island where there are active vents.  She stacks glass sheets and other specially made design elements over the refractory pattern negative and heats this in her kiln until they are fused and liquid.  After careful slow cooling, the new cast is then heated a second time into a curved form.   The natural braided ripples of lava show very well in glass, transparency and opacity play against light.  Both the front and the back show different interactions.  There are endless combinations of color and shape; each one is a combination of sculpture and painting in glass.

Inspired by the undulating swirls of the Big Island lava flows outside her home near Kilauea volcano, Marian has developed a unique glass casting technique. By combining torch worked glass threads, color shards and fine glass powders with layers of dichroic glass she stacks and fires the many elements into her lava molds to form a new glass sheet. The pattern taken from the lava and the individual components with 22 karat gold accents makes every platter so unique they are each signed and numbered. Marian states, “I am fascinated by the liquid effect of the molten lava and it's affinity with glass. Just opening the kiln on a new piece is exciting. I am grateful to have the opportunity to work here with this beautiful material and have others enjoy these pieces.”