Skip Navigation Website Accessibility
 


Sea Worthy Spiritile

"A ship is safe in harbor - but that is not what ships are built for."John A. Shedd

For so long, the little boat stayed ashore, protected by the coast, sheltered by the presence of other boats nearby. Curiosity about what lie out on the water grew, then waned every time the waves seemed too big. What if the waves would become too much? No, it was much safer to stay ashore. But was it? A new storm blew through, and like the winds of change, the waves washed up to meet the little boat. Life came up to meet the vessel, and said, “It’s time.” For this little boat was not built to live ashore, but to venture out, far and wide, exploring the waters beyond, whether they be wild or calm. Thus began the little boat’s adventure into the unknown.

Spiritiles are made by firing glass powders on copper until they become molten and fuse to the copper surface. Each is 8.5'' x 5.5'' x 2'', ready to hang. Along with the image on the front, an accompanying quote appears along the side with attribution on the top edge. Each Spiritile is carefully handmade using a series of intricate stencil techniques. From the beginning, Houston Llew’s vision for his enameled artworks drew from the beauty of simplicity. He sought after an imagistic theme for his work rather than pursuing the abstract often seen in other enameled wall art. The image is just the beginning - each piece is paired with a quote sgraffitoed around the sides to create an inspiring story through words and images in glass. After firing, a pin is rolled over the enameled metal to form intentional crazing marks in the glass.