Q: Which Series are your working on at the moment? and how many people are involved in the process?
MACNEIL: I work on several pieces simultaneously. Each at different stages in development. I am currently working on a Neck Collar with a glass collar. This is a new direction this series has taken recently and there are up to about seven people involved in the processes needed to make one of these pieces.
The glass collars are created in the Ben Moore Glass Studio - using a hot process (see picture below) where the glass is heated and stretched into a tube which is then bent into shape (see video below). Then the collars are transported to my studio. In my studio they are cut, polished and sandblasted. After sandblasting the collars are taken to West Virginia where they are acid polished to give them a satin finish.
For these glass neck collars, I had to have a custom tool made. This video reveals the new tool and how it is used.
The client and myself are always the first, and also the last involved in the process of creating a piece.
Every piece begins with a conversation and drawings. For the neck collar I am currently working on, once the design was decided and the collar made, I took elements to my clients home with a range of colors, textures and metals so the we could explore color and texture possibilities together. This collaborative process means that the neck collar is perfectly tailored to their personal taste.
Below are some other examples of neck collars and the directions they have taken
