Fred Tschida: Sphere

In this work, two parallel rings of brilliant orange-red neon – the natural colour emitted by the gas when high-voltage electricity passes through it – rotate at a slower speed of 15 rpm to produce the illusion, when photographed with a long exposure, of a giant glowing orb.

Tschida began his exploration of glass in 1970 with Eriks Rudans at St. Cloud State University, Minnesota. From 1977 to his retirement in 2015, he was Professor of Glass Design and Director of the Museum of Luminous Phenomena at Alfred University in New York State, where he became an influential educator.

As a leader on Alfred’s renowned glass programme and through numerous national workshops and symposia, Tschida inspired generations of glass and neon artists, including Richard William Wheater, from Neon Workshop, who produced this version of Sphere at their workshop in Wakefield.