A Fish Out Of Water

This is Murano art glass - a famous product of the Venetian island of Murano. Murano's reputation as a centre for glass-making began over 700 years ago. Then the city of Venice, afraid that the growing number of foundries would set fire to the city's wooden buildings, ordered glass-makers to move to Murano about 7 miles away in the lagoon.

Most Murano glass art is made from silica, which becomes liquid at high temperatures. As the glass passes from a liquid to a solid state, there is a short interval when the glass is soft before it hardens completely, allowing the skilled craftsmen to shape the material into beautiful artistic designs. The colours are created by the addition of chemical compounds. The aquamarine in the fish is created by copper and cobalt.

Ten years ago on a visit to this part of the world I chose two sets of wine glasses from one of the many foundry shops, to be dispatched to Scotland. Perhaps because of the good order I was presented with this ornament to take away. It was actually a reject as Murano glass for export has to be totally perfect. I cannot see the flaw but no doubt an expert would!

Today, with the rain coming down, I decided to picture the fish against the window so it was backlit, and set it on a book to raise the level and give some interest and colour to the base of the picture. In Photoshop I applied a very mild painterly filter.