One of a Kind Fenton Prototype Carved by Kelsey Murphy Start Price USD 1,500.00 Current Price USD 1,500.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price USD 2,200.00 Reserve Price - Start Time Saturday, October 04, 2008 End Time Tuesday, October 14, 2008 Location Princeton, West Virginia See more about 'One of a Kind Fenton Prototype Carved by Kelsey Murphy' Description You are bidding on a truly ONE OF A KIND art glass piece. The original vase is a Fenton Art Glass, Dave Fetty prototype, purchased at the Fenton Gift Shop when they announced they were closing. The vase was then sent to Kelsey Murphy's Studio of Heaven to be hand carved. The amazing Pegasus and Castle is what she sent back to us. The Vase stands 10" tall and at it's widest point it is 6".  It features 3 Pegasus, a castle and several stars. All carved in the Cameo Art Glass tradition. It is hand signed with an A/P signifying that it is an artist proof. Kelsey and Robert specialize in glass cameo carving, an exacting art that demands both skill in design and great dexterity in execution. Cameo carving is a painstaking process. After the glass has bee annealed, a special mask is taped to the surface of the glass. Using and advanced "vignetting" technique, each piece is carefully sandcarved, by hand, using aluminum oxide crystal under pressure to take away some of the surface. Great individual skill and experience are needed to control this operation, as many distinct stages of sucessive cameo carving are required to create the remarkable depth and the intricate details. Kelsey Murphy and robert Bomkamp have successfully surpassed every hallmark in the history of cameo. During their twenty years of cameo making they have cased and successfully carved 12 layers of glass, which is the most layers carved in the history of cameo art glass. They have also blown and carved the largest piece, which stands 6 feet 6 inches. They have built 3 dimensional life-size forms such as, ducks, bunnies, turtles and eagles in as many as 6 colors. They carved pieces for The Bronze Look, LLC utilizing Burmese glass and collector favorite Chocolate glass manufactured at Fenton Art Glas in Williamstown, WV.Artists Kelsey Murphy and Robert Bomkamp call West Virgina home and in their West Virginia studio, "Made in Heaven", they create their masterpieces. The studio name is an apt one, indeed as collectors and museums alike have come to regard Kelsey and Robert's work as heavenly. The "Gauley River Sunrise" cameo vase set a record time for selling out of a cameo edition for Fenton Art Glass.Kelsey graduated from Rhode Island School of Desigh in graphic design and worked for several prestigious firms' marketing departments. True to her calling, she started her own business and discovered, through trial and error, a common glass decorating technique. Through the next several years she worked as a graphic designer/art director/engineer with Pilgrim Glass in WV. The first cameo piece was the "Liberty Statue" and was presented to Lee Iacocca on July 4th, 1986. Her work is shown in museums all over the world including the Corning Museum of Glass and The New Orleans Museum of Art. Kelsey also has pieces in the White House and Clinton Library. She is currently working with Fenton Art Glass,USA. Robert Bomkamp is a tool and die machinist by trade. He began working with Kelsey Murphy at Great Expectations designing tools and techniques required to create the complicated glass techniques. He has created his own cameo art with Pilgrim and is currently working with Fenton Art Glass on special edition prototypes and designs with Kelsey. His artistic talents have been evident on several exclusive pieces including lamps and vases. Place a Bid!