I have been working on a bas-relief for a Tacoma (Wa.) Virtual Heart Monitoring Clinic run by CHI Franciscan Health. They desperately needed a work of art that would inspire the team day to day and be a focal point in their building. They approached me looking for a piece of stained glass because they wanted color and something to glow while hung in their windowless building. I wanted to sculpt a work of art that would be meaningful in the context of their Clinic. The solution: blue cast leaded crystal

Inspired by the many bas relief roundelsI saw in Florence Italy, I chose Raphael the Archangel as the perfect subject. Raphael the Archangel is commonly referred to in the Christian tradition as the Angel that performs all manners of healing. Describing his role as written in the story of Tobias (book of Tobit), he protected Tobit on his journey while concealing his identity. He later reveals himself to Tobit and heals Tobit's father, Tobias from blindness. Raphael has become the patron of travelers, the blind, happy meetings, nurses, physicians, medical workers, and matchmakers. In recent years Raphael has become depicted more as what we commonly refer to as "The Guardian Angel."

In my version of Raphael, he holds an orb with beams of light emanating from within. I focused on detailing his powerful arms and chest and the weightiness of his wings. The wings are modeled on those of the famed Condor, whose wingspans can reach an astounding ten feet!

Leaded cast glass held up in the shop. I'm so excited to get this new piece installed with proper lighting