Marlene Rose's "Fountain Buddha" Installed, Part 4 of 4
Last time on Fountain Buddha...
Last year, we posted three of a four part series showing Marlene Rose's process creating her largest piece to date, Fountain Buddha, which weighs approximately 500 lbs. We're thrilled to share the final installment with you that shows the various parts coming together, the technical considerations, and the final installation.
After the painstaking work of model and mold creation, the casting, and the long annealing (cooling) period, Marlene can breathe easily seeing that it came out perfectly!
The Stand
Beyond all of the glass work that went into this piece, there was a considerable amount of metalwork that went into it too. Fabricating the steel stand to perfectly fit the heavy glass castings was another long and fastidious process of design and refinements.
Steel stand fabrication and fitting the glass panels
Lighting
Since Fountain Buddha is part of an architectural landscape, lighting was also a concern. Figuring out how to light the piece adequately required a lot of conversations, trial and error.
Meeting with lighting designer on how best to light the glass.
Working on the lighting for Fountain Buddha
The Site
The clients' home is one of very few residential properties on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach. When they did major renovations to the property, they wanted to add a sculptural aspect to the fountain at the end of their driveway. It took a number of years but when they saw Marlene's work, they knew they had found the right fit.
The fountain courtyard after renovations and before the installation of Marlene's piece
Detail of original fountain
Installation
The installation of a piece of this scale that intersects with a water feature and lighting is no small matter. As you can see below, many people contributed to the effort. Everything from function to aesthetics to safety must be taken into account for a successful job.
Preparations for the installation of the Fountain Buddha
Thomas, Marlene's husband and right-hand man, finishing the glass installation
Here's the sculpture fully installed. Next, the tubes on the water feature will be cut down and finally, the lighting will be installed.
Marlene inspects Fountain Buddha.
Marlene with the final piece!
Jobs like this are complicated and time consuming. It took a little over a month from the first meeting with the clients until the final drawings were solidified. Due to the size and scope of the project, the sculpture took close to 9 months from inception to installation.
Congratulations and huge thanks to Marlene, her husband Thomas, and her assistant, Celeste, for providing such wonderful content for our blog. The piece looks amazing!
Fountain Buddha at night