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The Movement of Waves and Currents Illustrated in Glass by Shayna Leib

Flux (2012), 16 x 30 x 8 inches. All photos by Eric Tadsen

Artist Shayna Leib (previously) finds inspiration in wind and water for her intricate and delicate glass sculptures. Thousands of hand-pulled canes are affixed into improvised compositions that mimic sea life swept by natural forces. Custom hues accentuate the soft appearance of the sculptures while contrasting the nature of the material and the caneworking process.

As Leib explains on her website, cane pulling involves layering colorants between gathers of molten glass and stretching it into rods. Two of the artist’s latest compositions, “Grotto” and “Harmattan,” get their deep red color from colorants formulated with gold. The rods are then curved using a kiln and molds before being cut into smaller sections. After sorting the tens of thousands of pieces by color and shape, Leib begins the process of arranging them in frames to form three-dimensional works.

“The things I find beautiful have always been fractal in nature,” Leib said in a statement. “I am intrigued by multitudes of tiny little parts- blades of grass all bending in the wind to the same rhythm. As you pan out you have waves of form. Zoom in and you see each individual blade of grass moving to the flow of the wind.” To view more angles of Leib’s dynamic glass sculptures, follow her on Instagram.

Sunset over the Tundra (2013), glass, 22 x 36 x 7 inches.

Sunset over the Tundra (detail)

Harmattan (2019)

Hexacorallia (2019), 36 x 12 x 8 inches

Grotto (2019), 36 x 20 x 9 inches; Stiniva IV (2019), 36 x 20 x 9 inches