People will see this sculpture grouping on your shelf and do a double-take! Glass breakfast that's good enough to fool the eye. A beautiful permanent decoration for your kitchen or dining area. Almost nothing in nature is perfectly round, smooth or even, so I deliberately avoid making my glass food sculptures too perfect. I put on splotches and speckles, make them lopsided, and add other imperfections so that each piece is unique. This makes them look much more "real".

The grouping in this picture includes all of the following glass sculptures:
1 glass sunny-side-up fried egg;
2 glass bacon slices;
5 glass red raspberries.
All the pieces are separate so you may rearrange them on a plate of your own choice, or directly on your counter-top if you prefer.

These glass sculptures are all life-sized, the better to fool the eye. The glass fried egg is about half cooked, complete with bubbles and crispy edges. There's still some shiny clear stuff around the yolk. I make each one individually using a free-hand method so no two are ever the same. Each egg is signed and dated.

The bacon strips are about 6 inches long and 3/4 inches wide. I spend several hours carefully mixing the exact combinations of glass powders for these realistic bacon colors, and laying them out to create the pattern of lean and fat. Several kiln firings are needed to consolidate the power, get the right texture, and create the rippled shape. I finish by giving each slice a final surface treatment and polishing, so it has the same soft sheen as a real strip of cooked bacon.

The raspberries are just under 3/4 inches high. I make each one by melting glass rods in the flame of a torch and shaping the glass with surface tension, gravity and simple tools. Every single drupelet (cell) is individually applied over the surface of the raspberry in a painstaking process and each has a slight vertical indentation. I achieve the variations in color by selectively heating and cooling the glass, so the color will never rub, flake or chip off. No two glass raspberries are exactly alike. Like real raspberries, my lampwork raspberries are mostly hollow and have a matte surface. When the raspberries are handled, the natural oils from your skin enhance this soft sheen.

Elizabeth Johnson Art Glass, LLC