Linda has always been fearless where materials are concerned. She is never one to conform nor one to shy away away from trying something new. Although her work is mostly on an intricate scale this does not deter her from exploring materials normally used at industrial sizes. Her passion for color and light is the driver of her exploration and has led her to different under-explored materials like Vitrolite (plate glass) and Granite. In 1985 after New Hampshire declared Granite their state rock and became “The Granite State" she introduced granite into her work.
Examples featuring granite are shown below. Two are taken from 1985 from the Elements series and two are object d’art from 1986, from the Tri-Form Construction Vessel Series.
MACNEIL: Both these necklaces were made in the same year, 1985. Each piece is geometric in essence but they vary in softness through form, edge and opacity.
Elements Series No. 32, is all about the “hard edges” . The materials used are 14k Gold, Lapis natural stone, Plate glass, and granite. Throughout the necklace i am emphasizing the sharp edges to catch light, the prism effect and abrupt shape edges. I’m also using the light to contrast between clear pure plate glass and the colored opaque texture of Granite. The gold is made from gold tubing to emphasize the geometric feeling.
Elements Series No.33, uses the same concept but I softened the edges of the strict blocks and cylinders. I shaped the materials in the cold shop on a belt sander using finer grits to polish. The gold is cast and formed to receive the capsule shaped ends, and contract and expand in a smooth undulating motion.
1986 • Optical glass, Vitrolite glass, granite, and brass. 8 x 12 x 12 inches (20.3 x 30.5 x 30.5 cm). National Liberty Museum. Gift of Laurie Wagman & Irving Borowsky
1986 • Optical glass, Vitrolite glass, granite, and brass. 8 x 12 x 12 inches (20.3 x 30.5 x 30.5 cm). National Liberty Museum. Gift of Laurie Wagman & Irving Borowsky
Q: What appeals to you about Granite and how do you work with it?
MACNEIL: "I love visiting quarries. Dan and I went on a field trip to a quarry North of Concord NH. They gave us a tour of the working facilities inside and out. Mostly the work commissioned was sculptures, one was a Mercedes full size (wonderfully exciting for me.) Much of the carving was done with pneumatic chisels, but to my surprise they also carved with a lite torch, using the tool like a wand over the surface of the granite. The hot temperature shock popped off the individual crystalline structures as they shaped the form. This was very different from my method of forming the granite elements by cold working on machinery in my studio. I brought with me my tiny elements “Jewels”, with the minute drilled holes. The guys were amazed to see how I treated the same massive stone. We went out into the quarry and toured the side of the Mountain. Giant steel cables with cutting grit slowly ate away at the huge block of granite. They were cutting what appeared to be 4’x8’x 2” slabs most likely for countertops in homes. Such a dramatic contrast in scale of cutting compared to my jewelry from the same stuff.”
250-foot quarry area at Swenson Granite. Photos by GEOFF FORESTER ©2018 Concord Monitor
Q: Plate Glass is also a material typically used for industrial applications what draws you to it?
MACNEIL: "I can go on and on” Linda says,"Plate glass (float glass) production is just as amazing. Giant factories have football size beds of hot molten glass that feed through a process of glass batch melting and forming into a perfect sheet of plate glass out the other end. I am captivated by the contrast of the delicate intricate elements I make from the same stuff that is installed in skyscrapers.”
