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About Spiritiles
About Houston Llew
History of the Medium
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Become a Gallery
A smile is the light in the window that tells people you're at home. - Anonymous
You need chaos in your soul to give birth to a dancing star. - Nietzsche
Life is like a piano. What you get depends on how you play it. - Tom Lehrer
Carve quite spaces in your life and in the silence you will hear the angels. - Anonymous
I like to have a martini. Two at the very most. Three I'm under the table. Four I'm under the host. -Dorothy Parker
Why don't you get out of that wet coat and into a dry martini. - Robert Benchley
We will either find a way or make one. - Hannibal
The heart has its reasons which reason knows not of. - Blais Pascal
To our children we give two things- one is roots, the other wings. - Hodding Carter
Wine is sunlight held together by water. - Galileo
Angels do what they want- just for the heaven of it. - Anonymous
That love is all there is is all we know about love. - Emily Dickenson
We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance. - Japanese Proverb
My soul finds no staircase to heaven but thru earth's loveliness. - Michelangelo
If I keep a home in my heart, a singing bird will come. - LaoTzu
Spring unlocks the flowers to paint the laughing earth. - Reginald Heber
Deep in their roots all flowers keep the light. - Theodore Roethke
Like the violin, happiness is a thing to be practiced. - Sir John Lubbock
We cannot light another's path without brightening our own. - Ben Sweetland
Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. - Berthold Auerbach
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rishing each time we fall. - Confucius
Keep your face to the sunshine and you will not see the shadows. - Helen Keller
Let the light from your heart be your lantern in the darkness. - Diogenes
Good friends- books- a sleepy conscience. This is the ideal life. - Mark Twain
When choosing between two evils, I always try the one I've never tried before. - Mae West
It is what it is and it ain't what it ain't. - John Prine
Life and love go on, let the music play. - Johnny Cash
May all your weeds be wildflowers. - Anonymous
You are my honey, I am the bee. - Albert H. Fitz
I thought of that while riding my bicycle. - Albert Einstein
The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon? - Johnny Webb
May the wings of the butterfly kiss the sun and find your shoulder to light on. - Irish Blessing
It takes a long time to grow young. - Pablo Picasso
In vino veritas. In wine is truth. - Plato
Horse sense is the thing a horse has that keeps it from betting on people. - W.C. Fields
A horse is like a violin, it must be finely tuned, and when tuned it must be accurately played. - Pat Parelli
A racehorse is an animal that can take several thousand people for a ride at the same time. - Anonymous
Dwell as near as possible to the channel in which your life flows. - Henry David Thoreau
Sit quietly, doing nothing. Spring comes and the grass grows by itself. - Zen Proverb
Laughter is the sun that deives winter from the human face. - Victor Hugo
When we're two balloons and together our direction is up, chances are we've foudn the right person. - Richard Bach
To chase the glowing hours with flying feet. - Lord Byron
Hipness is not a state of mind. It's a fact of life! - Cannonball Adderly
May all your joys be real joys and all your pains, champagne. - Anonymous
After midnight, we're gonna let it all hang out. - J.J. Cale
Each day brings its own gifts. - Marcus Aurelius
It could be love . . . Or it might be the chocolate. - Anonymous
Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world. - Marilyn Monroe
Love doesn’t make the world go round, love makes the ride worthwhile. - Franklin P. Jones
If raindrops were kisses, I would send you showers - Ally Qwerty
I'd rather be lucky than good - Lefty Gomez
Our love can’t be measured by the number of words we share - Milan Kundera
Great love and great achievement require great risk - Dalai Lama
At the edge of a petal love waits - William Carlos Williams
Springtime! The earth is like a child who knows poetry - Ranier Maria Rilke
The family is one of nature’s greatest masterpieces - George Santayana
"Me and you and ice cream - Best friends forever." - Jessi Lane Adams
"I'm old enough to know better but way too young to care." - anonymous
"Wherever you go, go with all your heart." - Confucius
"I get by with a little help from my friends." - John Lennon
"Perhaps the truth is found in a walk on the beach." - Wallace Stevens
"Dry seeds scatter as if to say there is something in me yet to be." Jeanne Emrich
"Don't get your feathers ruffled over little things. Just wing it." - anonymous
"The true meaning of life is to plant a tree under whose shade you don't expect to sit." - Nelson Henderson
Spiritiles are created with MOLTEN GLASS on COPPER.They are collectibles that capture the Spirit of the Enlightened Moment. 100% American Made. All the raw materials of Spiritiles are made in USA: the glass comes from the Southeast and the copper comes from the Southwest.The imagery is created by hand with colored glass, kiln fired to copper.
Spiritiles are created with
MOLTEN GLASS on COPPER.
They are collectibles that capture the
Spirit of the Enlightened Moment.
100% American Made. All the raw materials of Spiritiles are made in USA: the glass comes from the Southeast and the copper comes from the Southwest.
The imagery is created by hand with colored glass, kiln fired to copper.
Spiritiles bring luminous icons to life and share timeless stories on their golden sides.Spiritiles easily wall hang or stand alone. These wonderful artworks will never fade or tarnish and may be enjoyed in sunny or humid spots where other art may not endure.Spiritiles are new and unique just introduced to the world in 2009. Handcrafted in Atlanta, GA
Spiritiles bring luminous icons to life and share timeless stories on their golden sides.
Spiritiles easily wall hang or stand alone. These wonderful artworks will never fade or tarnish and may be enjoyed in sunny or humid spots where other art may not endure.
Spiritiles are new and unique just introduced to the world in 2009.
Handcrafted in Atlanta, GA
The Spirit of Houston LlewThe artist Houston Llew was just seven the first time he got lost in the art world. A boy gone missing at New Yorks Metropolitan Museum of Art, he was found sitting on a bench, quietly pondering BotticellisAnnunciation and sketching its rays of light in his notepad. The young boy drewfascination from arts abstraction elements of the whole that capture the spirit of the moment. In later years with less panic spread to his elders Houston shared the same quiet moments in Holland with Van Gogh and with da Vincis Mona Lisa at the Louvre.
The Spirit of Houston Llew
The artist Houston Llew was just seven the first time he got lost in the art world. A boy gone missing at New Yorks Metropolitan Museum of Art, he was found sitting on a bench, quietly pondering BotticellisAnnunciation and sketching its rays of light in his notepad. The young boy drewfascination from arts abstraction elements of the whole that capture the spirit of the moment. In later years with less panic spread to his elders Houston shared the same quiet moments in Holland with Van Gogh and with da Vincis Mona Lisa at the Louvre.
A southern boy born in Nashville, Houston attended school at Auburn University in Alabama then went to work at the seaport of Savannah. He moved along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico where he kept books and cast netted to keep his sanity. The old South captured his eye for icons; moss-draped ancient live oaks and weary shrimp boats hanging onto the sunset, but Houston Llew had not yet found the prima vitae he needed for his imagery. He adventured on westward in a Winnebago, fueling his tank with the occasional poker game.Houston soon found himself in Santa Fe where he would meet the accomplished artist Zingaro. The master found Houston to be a young man worthy of his mentorship and came to share with him a precious gift his luminous medium of glass fired to copper a timeless technique the man himself had inherited from the late masters Craig Ruwe and Fred Ball of California. When Houston Llew envisioned his spirited imagery captured in this fire, he knew hed come full circle lost again in the world of art.
A southern boy born in Nashville, Houston attended school at Auburn University in Alabama then went to work at the seaport of Savannah. He moved along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico where he kept books and cast netted to keep his sanity. The old South captured his eye for icons; moss-draped ancient live oaks and weary shrimp boats hanging onto the sunset, but Houston Llew had not yet found the prima vitae he needed for his imagery. He adventured on westward in a Winnebago, fueling his tank with the occasional poker game.
Houston soon found himself in Santa Fe where he would meet the accomplished artist Zingaro. The master found Houston to be a young man worthy of his mentorship and came to share with him a precious gift his luminous medium of glass fired to copper a timeless technique the man himself had inherited from the late masters Craig Ruwe and Fred Ball of California. When Houston Llew envisioned his spirited imagery captured in this fire, he knew hed come full circle lost again in the world of art.
Vitreous Enamel : History of the Medium
The earliest evidence glass on metal art form is dated thirteenth century B.C. . . . six gold rings decorated in cloisonné enamel known as the Kouklia Rings retrieved in 1952 from a tomb on the island of Cyprus. Not long after, a magnificent Royal Gold Sceptre with cloisonne enamel from the eleventh century B.C. was discovered in a tomb at Kourion.
The artistry of glass on metal, otherwise known as enameling, has taken many turns over the centuries from the intricate boxes of Battersea and Limoges and the fabulous eggs of Peter Carl Faberge to the jewels of the art nouveau era but none so remarkable and unique as the works of Fred Uhl Ball (1945-1985) whose experimental techniques elevated enamel work from decorative objectives to abstract, interpretive wall art.
Ball began his formal career at age eleven with open air demonstrations at the California State Fair. The worse conditions were, Ball said, the wilder my work would get. The young man had a flair for the unusual torch firing thin sheets of metal, exploding liquid enamel and firing enamel-coated cobwebs and tree leaves to create pattern and texture.
As his finesse grew, so did the renown of his freeform process. Once breaking away from tradition and approaching the art in a painterly way, all kinds of innovations began to occur. Balls innovations garnered him worldwide acclaim as a master of large-scale enamelwork with over forty-five public commissions recorded at the Archives of American Art, the largest of which is The Way Home, a 24x 62 installation on a municipal parking garage at 3rd and L Streets in his Sacramento hometown. (photo)
Ball was known as a generous man who had a commitment to sharing his discoveries with young artists. One of these was Craig Ruwe (1957-2004) of Long Beach, California who assisted Ball in his largest installation. After moving to New Mexico in the 1980s, Ruwe innovated methods to create gradient imagery within the enamel and refined the presentation, using framed glass and later the metal itself as framing. Under the demands of a large commission in 2001, Ruwe engaged the painter and sculptor Zingaro (1954) to assist him. This arrangement continued until Ruwes death in 2004 when Zingaro was left to carry on the evolution of the process and the training of young artists.
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Contact Us
Houston Llew Inc.
675 Metropolitan Parkway
Suite 4237
Atlanta, GA 30310
Phone: 404-975-4317
Fax: 404-752-7573
Email:
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How to PurchaseSpiritiles are available exclusively thru select galleries nationwide. This map shows all current galleries. If you have a particular piece in mind, I advise that you call ahead before trecking down to the gallery.No gallery near you? No problem, we will gladly refer you to the nearest preferred gallery & have a piece drop-shipped directly to you. Just give us your contact information and let us know where you saw the work.
How to Purchase
Spiritiles are available exclusively thru select galleries nationwide. This map shows all current galleries. If you have a particular piece in mind, I advise that you call ahead before trecking down to the gallery.
No gallery near you? No problem, we will gladly refer you to the nearest preferred gallery & have a piece drop-shipped directly to you. Just give us your contact information and let us know where you saw the work.
Contact Form
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Returns and Exchanges
Quality and consistency are our highest priority in making these beautiful pieces. The medium of Spiritiles is unique and unpredictable. Each Spiritile is completely unique to itself. Cracks in the glass are normal and part of our crazing process. Slight color variations are also normal and are a result of the handmade process. Even the weather during the day a Spiritile is born plays a major role in the way glass reacts to the copper. Therefore we do not accept returns or exchanges due to cracks, color variations, or any other artistic flaw; no matter how unexpected or 'distracting' it may be.We encourage you to purchase from your local gallery.
Quality and consistency are our highest priority in making these beautiful pieces.
The medium of Spiritiles is unique and unpredictable. Each Spiritile is completely unique to itself. Cracks in the glass are normal and part of our crazing process. Slight color variations are also normal and are a result of the handmade process. Even the weather during the day a Spiritile is born plays a major role in the way glass reacts to the copper.
Therefore we do not accept returns or exchanges due to cracks, color variations, or any other artistic flaw; no matter how unexpected or 'distracting' it may be.
We encourage you to purchase from your local gallery.
Thank you for your interest in Houston Llew's Spiritiles!
These American-made collectible artworks are represented by a select group of retailers. We offer zip code protection, so your gallery will not have to worry about competing with the shop down the street..
If you sell eclectic gifts and art and believe in fresh product and impeccible service, we want to talk with you!
Please give us your basics information and we'll be in touch very soon!
Gallery Name:
City, State:
Phone:
How did you hear
about Spiritiles?
Houston Llew Inc. 675 Metropolitan Parkway Suite 4237 Atlanta, GA 30310
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Which piece(s) are you interested in?
'Spirit of Giving'
A smile is the light in your window that tells people you're at home. - anonymous
Carve quiet spaces in your life and in the silence you will hear the angels. - anonymous
I like to have a martini, two at the very most, three I'm under the table, four I'm under the host. - Dorothy Parker
Why don’t you get out of that wet coat and into a dry martini? - Robert Benchley
It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows. - Epictetus
The heart has its reasons which reason knows not of. - Blaise Pascal
To our children we give two things- one is roots, the other wings. Hodding Carter
'Spirit of Love'
Angels do what they want - just for the heaven of it. - Anonymous
That love is all there is is all we know of love. - Emily Dickinson
My soul finds no staircase to heaven but through earth's lovliness. - Michelangelo
If I keep a home in my heart, a singing bird will come. Lao-Tzu
Springs unlocks the flowers to paint the laughing earth. - Reginald Heber
You are the music while the music lasts. - T.S. Eliot
'Spirit of Light'
"Anythin' for a quiet life," he said when he took the job at the lighthouse. - Charles Dickens
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising each time we fall. - Confucius
Good friends - books - a sleepy conscience. This is the ideal life. - Mark Twain
'Playful Spirites'
May all of your weeds be wildflowers. - Anonymous
May the wings of the butterfly kiss the sun and find your shoulder to light on. -Irish Blessing
It takes a long time to grow young. -Pablo Picasso
In vino veritas. In wine is truth. -Plato
Horse sense is the thing a horse has that keeps it from betting on people. -W.C. Fields
A horse is like a violin, it must be finely tuned, and when tuned it must be accurately played. -Pat Parelli
A racehorse is an animal that can take several thousand people for a ride at the same time. -Anonymous
'Buoyant Spirites'
Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face. -Victor Hugo
When we are two balloons and together our direction is up, chances are we've found the right person. -Richard Bach
To Chase the glowing hours with flying feet - Lord Byron
Hipness is not a state of mind. It's a fact of life! - Cannonball Adderley
May all your joys be real joys and all your pains, champagne - Anonymous
After midnight we're gonna let it all hang out. - J.J. Cale
Each day brings it's own gifts. - Marcus Aurelius
'Charmed Spirits'
It could be love . . . Or it might be the chocolate - Anonymous
Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world - Marilyn Monroe
Love doesn’t make the world go round, love makes the ride worthwhile - Franklin P. Browning
“I'd rather be lucky than good - Lefty Gomez
The earth is like a child who knows poetry - Ranier Maria Rilke
'Breezy Spirits'
"Me and you and ice cream. Best friends forever." - Jessi Lane Adams
"Dry seeds scatter as if to say there is something in me yet to be." - Jeanne Emrich
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