Art remained important to both Byron and Esther. Though they had a rather long dry spell while they focused mainly on boats and boating, the Bristols came full circle while in Fort Lauderdale. When Suzanne was hired to design a piece for a firm that made mock stained glass windows out of fiberglass, Byron became interested. Upon seeing the finished window, however, he was disappointed and decided that he could do better. Byron went into his shop, cleared everything out, and began creating windows of his own.
Fiberglass windows were far sturdier than stained glass and still gave an artistic, old-world feel to houses, churches, and mausoleums. The Bristols soon found that there was great business opportunity in this line of work, and were soon producing dozens of beautiful works of art.
The process started with a cartoon, a full-scale design drawn on paper. This was the really artistic stage of production which Esther, Norma, and Sue specialized in. Large sheets of pane glass were set above sun-like fluorescent lights, and after the girls drew and colored in manageable sections of a cartoon they would tape it to the back of the glass. This way they could work on the surface of the glass with their pattern right below them.
Then a releasing agent was sprayed over the glass and water clear polyester resin was painted over the surface. After that had hardened another coat was applied and then a fiberglass mat was placed over that, then saturated with more resin. The artist would then fill plastic squeeze-bottles with dark thickened resin and draw lines right over the lines drawn on the cartoon to create the design on the fiberglass. These lines created a raised boundary for the colored resin that was squeezed on next. This was an exacting procedure, as the depth of the colored resin determined the shade of color that would result, and the shades must be consistent throughout the window.
After the resin had hardened, another coat of resin was applied and another fiberglass mat covered the design; this was saturated with more clear resin. The last step was to cover the entire surface with wrinkled-up wax paper and tamp it down into the resin with a brush to give the window the look of real stained glass. This uneven surface served to break up the light and create a greater effect when the sun streamed through. After this, the sections of a window could be transported to their final destination.
The Bristols not only created incredible full-sized windows, they also turned out quite a few smaller fiberglass pieces for people to hang in their windows as a kind of illuminated artwork. These sold like hotcakes, and the Bristols were not only having fun but turning a nice profit as well.
The Bristols' business was noticed by the Crom Corporation, located about six hours away in Gainesville, Florida. They offered Byron a job developing fiberglass products, and Byron was always up for something new. This would mean moving again, but Byron and Esther decided that it was a good idea, nevertheless, as Norma would then have the chance to attend the University of Florida, which is in Gainesville. By this time Suzanne had already enrolled in Columbia University in New York and then gone on to study art in Paris. So the little family of three picked up and moved yet again.
After makeshift living arrangements, Byron finally bought a pitiful, forlorn little cracker shack on one and a half acres of land. It was a bargain, and Byron had the vision needed for extensive remodeling. Esther and Norma were horrified at the prospect, but it was a lovely, comfortable home in no time.
Byron and Esther were still making fiberglass windows, but they soon became interested in quite a different medium. It started with a visit by the Bristols to the Penland School of Crafts nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, where Byron ended up teaching 'Plastics as an Art Form' for three summers. While there, Esther learned the art form of enameling on copper. By sprinkling powdered glass on a sheet of copper and firing it in a kiln, one could create beautiful designs. Soon Esther was turning out all manner of pins, pendants and decorative plaques to sell along with their windows.
Getting back into the craft field again inspired the Bristols to start a craft school of their own called "Bristol Studios", where they shared their ample knowledge with many willing students.
No comments:
Post a Comment