The webcoat lighting pieces utilize a unique material that was created in the late 1940s. George Nelson originally sourced the material for his classic bubble lamps after seeing boats being sprayed with a similar product for protection before being stored. The material looks as though it might be paper or fabric but it is neither. Steel wire frames are created and then sprayed with the PVC based material to create a cocoon like membrane.
The Webcoat pieces were my very first venture into the design world while studying sculpture back in 2002. The first pieces were meant to be sculptural works with lighting elements but these pieces made me begin to think about the home as a destination for my work. I wanted my work to be lived with and used and touched. I wanted there to be a more intimate relationship with the work than a piece that might be encountered in a gallery or public space.
It is very difficult if not impossible to approach lighting pieces using the webcoat material that do not at least reference the classic design work for George Nelson. For that reason I prefer to produce one-of-a-kind sculptural chandeliers that expand upon the capabilities of the materials in other ways. I have begun to pair the material with resin-bonded sand and other materials from my other experiments. I also like to push the boundaries of scale and explore irregular forms for sight specific installations.
