JAMES NOWAK ART GLASS *PROTOTYPE POLARIS w/Custom Stand Amazing UNIQUE Prototype Work - Magnificent 1 of a Kind Start Price USD 3,150.00 Current Price USD 3,150.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Tuesday, September 30, 2008 End Time Monday, October 27, 2008 Location Seattle See more about 'JAMES NOWAK ART GLASS *PROTOTYPE POLARIS w/Custom Stand' Description northwest ART glassyour source for the finest ARTglass online JAMES NOWAK ART GLASS *PROTOTYPE POLARIS w/Custom Stand Click to View Image Album Click to View Image Album Click to View Image Album Click to View Image Album Click to View Image Album Click to View Image Album Click to View Image Album Click to View Image Album    Please be sure to click on the photos to enlarge them for the best view of this piece.  We hope you will check our other auction items as well !    This amazing one of a kind prototype piece is being offered at a fixed price -- well below what a comparable work would be priced at in a traditional retail setting.   ---  We have set the price as low as possible, but would consider offers if payment was to be made by direct check rather than credit card. We do try to keep our opening bids at rock bottom -- relative to the caliber of work being offered... Please send us an ebay message if there is something specific you are seeking, and we will attempt to acquire it for you.   The piece at auction you are currently viewing is: Prototype POLARIS Disc, on sculptural metal base.Artist: James NowakSigned: Nowak 05 Approx Size: 14" x 18" x 11"Insured Shipping: Western US: 120.00  Eastern US: 135.00No chips, cracks, or damage evident. We are very pleased to be able to offer this incredible James Nowak prototype piece to our eBay audience. This is a major work of art meant for the true connoisseur of glass, and it is a magnificent tour d' force. It may be likened to a couture dress.....the level of intensive work and careful craftsmanship required to produce an amazing example may not always be evident to the casual observer.  However, to someone "in the know" -- who understands and appreciates the complexity of creating such a technically difficult and labor intensive handmade piece, the sense of magic it conveys can be almost overwhelming. The basic components of the piece include an amazingly large and heavy solid glass disc.  Nowak has introduced very carefully chosen and artfully arranged decorative elements within the interior, and since the piece does not get expanded the way blown works do, the individual elements retain a level of detail and crispness that is truly remarkable. Nowak carefully manipulates and works this thick, heavy, hubcap sized mass of molten glass, in a Herculean way, shaping it into a beautifully rounded and curved flattened disc.  But the difficult act of creation is only partially complete.  Getting such a thick and heavy piece of glass to cool without cracking, warping, or quite literally exploding, is where the next level of Nowak's technical virtuosity becomes apparent.  The piece must be slowly cooled and annealed in a carefully calibrated oven, with constant monitoring, for nearly five days, before it can be inspected and declared a success.  At that point, careful polishing and finish work is undertaken....but the piece is only half way complete. Nowak then takes this amazing piece of glass, and carefully mounts it into a custom forged metal display stand.  The Polaris Disc has stability based on its weight and the way it his held by the stand.  The Disc itself is actually not attached to the base and is fully removable from the stand.  The stand is beautifully crafted to Nowak's specifications and finished with a gunmetal powder coating, with a very classical look that references classicism, renaissance and baroque traditions. A pair of leaf shapes cradle the Disc and hold it upright and stable.  The leaf ends are wrought into a wonderful tangle of stems and tendrils forming the base of the stand. in one word....... INCREDIBLE ! PLEASE BE SURE TO READ THE EBAY "ME" PAGE (link above) BEFORE YOU BID. All of our Sales Policies are listed there. There is also a link to further information about the Artist. Our Art Glass Auction items are often unusual and experimental works either in style or coloration, or may have some other little quirk which keeps them from being perfect in the eye of the artist, and our auction minimum bids are able to reflect that. Any specific flaws or problems are ALWAYS noted in the item description. Some Additional Information about the artist: For a description of the artist at work, please see the link from our Ebay "ME" page.Mr. Nowak has both studied and taught in connection with some of the most respected and exciting names in the art glass world including Pilchuck, Chihuly, Maroni/Corning, and Pratt to name a few.Works by Mr. Nowak are included in significant private collections, corporate collections, and public institutions. By bidding on this auction, you confirm that you have read and consent to our Sales Policies, as listed in the Ebay "ME" page, link at top of this listing.   Shipping Fees quoted are for the Continental US Only.  Depending on size, we may be able to ship to Alaska, or Overseas to International buyers -- Please Inquire BEFORE bidding. PLEASE VIEW THE Ebay "ME" page, from the link above, and review our FULL policies BEFORE bidding! Thank you. Payment   I accept the following forms of payment: Direct Offline Credit Card Payment: Visa/Master CardMoney OrderPersonal Check Additional Information FREE scheduling, supersized images and templates. Get Vendio Sales Manager.  FREE scheduling, supersized images and templates. Get Vendio Sales Manager. Place a Bid!