|
 The decorative art glass panels created by Meixia represent a marriage of traditional hand-crafted art and modern technology. The company’s artists, who are graduates of art schools and have been trained in draftsmanship as well as in computer design, bring to their work drawing skills and an eye for color. Designs are transferred to glass panels using a process similar to that employed in silk-screening. The colored pigments fuse with the glass during firing in a specially designed kiln.
The creation of a Meixia glass painting begins when Meixia receives from the customer a high-resolution image of the work to be reproduced. The customer is asked to provide the image in two formats: a hard-copy color print and an electronic image. The hard-copy print provides a truthful record of the color of the original work of art, while the electronic image is used by Meixia artists in drawing on the computer.
The artist begins by printing out the electronic image at full size on photo paper. The print-out doesn’t capture all of the details that are actually present in the image, so on the computer, the artist enlarges the electronic image. This reveals all of the details, which the artist then carefully outlines. Once outlined, the details will be captured in the high-resolution image that the artist subsequently prints out. Such work requires not only a good eye but also above-average drawing skills, which is why Meixia employs artists with art-school degrees.
Next, the artist analyzes the image, identifying the colors used in the full-color hard-copy photographic print supplied by the client and matching those colors to color chips. Meixia produces its own range of high-quality pigments and is thus able to provide superior color matching.
After identifying the colors in the color print, the artist separates the colors used in the original image into single colors, a process widely used in printing and known as color separation.
As in certain types of woodblock printing, each color will be applied as a layer on the glass panel. If there are fifteen colors in the original image, for example, there will be fifteen layers. Each layer will be applied separately, building up a series of layers printed one top another and gradually producing a full-colored image.
Drawing the image to preserve all the details of the original work of art, matching the colors of the pigments to the colors of the client’s color print, and performing the color separation are the most exacting parts of the entire glass-painting process. Meixia specializes in these aspects of the process, which are essential to a finished panel that embodies the color and clarity of the original work of art.
Each layer is applied to a plastic sheet, or film, and each sheet will be used to render a different color. To ensure perfect registration, or the exact alignment of each layer with every other layer, the sheets must be aligned perfectly in the screening process. Great care is taken to achieve this, as imperfect registration would produce a blurry or “out of focus” image.
Technicians then paint the image on a sheet of glass, building up the image one layer - in other words, one color - at a time.
Once all layers have been applied to the sheet of glass, the glass is fired in a special kiln. During the firing process, the colors fuse permanently with the glass, thereby ensuring that they will not fade or otherwise alter, nor will they scratch off.
The fired panel serves as a sample. It is given to the artist, who analyses the colors against the client’s hard-copy color print of the original work of art. Any deviations from the print - such as a muddy color, or a color that is too weak - is corrected; the process of selecting new color chips and of screen-printing new layers and firing is repeated.
Once the fired sample matches the colors of the client’s color print, the sample is then sent to the client for approval. If the client requests revisions, the revisions will be made and a new panel sent out for approval.
When the client has approved the sample, production begins.
|
