How Luminettes are made

Ideas come to me for the Luminette imagery in many different ways.  Often I am guided by my current color obsession.  Sometimes an amusing scene crystalizes in my mind's eye.  And every once in a while a customer requests something that resonates with me.  In all cases, the idea first materializes in my sketch book.  I don't spend a lot of time on the sketch.  Mainly I create the lines and general flow of the image with pencil and leave the color to the next phase.

Using colored pencils, chalk pastels and watercolor crayons I render the
image in color, much larger than before.

Tools of my trade.

The drawing is photographed and printed on a durable milky-backed
film.  It's tough enough to drill into, in preparation for a later stage.

 I design the copper frames that are cut out locally by waterjet technology.  
They start out shiny and raw but become uniquely textured by sanding and
colored by a patina bath.

 My trusty eyeleting tool completes the job of connecting image and
clip to frame.  No flimsy gluing here...  made to last.
 

And it's done -- ready to plug in, delight and beguile!
 

 Click here to see a short video on the process of Luminette creation, from start to finish.