Clan House

The Museum of Glass in Tacoma, WA, organized Preston's traveling exhibition Preston Singletary: Echoes, Fire, and Shadows, challenging him to create his most ambitious work to date. Clan House is a 16-by-10-foot cast-glass triptych that references the large-scale Tlingit crest designs that appeared in the interior of traditional longhouses. The two-sided bas-relief works recall carved house posts and frame a monumental center screen.

The piece was made with the invaluable assistance of David Svenson, who carved the wooden house posts, and Ray Ahlgren or Fireart Glass, who undertook the casting of the posts and panels. In casting the 550 pound, seven foot tall posts, Fireart took great care to preserve the surface tool marks from the carver's original full size wood model.

Clan House (Naakahídi), 2008
Kiln-cast and sand carved glass; water-jet cut, inlaid, and laminated medallion
Overall: 120" x 192" x 2 1/2"
Museum of Glass commission with funds provided by Leonard and Norma Klorfine Foundation (TX.2009.2.42)

• Museum of Glass
• Klorfine Foundation