Bay Bridge history preserved in glass art collection

Benicia glass artist Robert Quarrick, pictured in his gallery, holds pieces he made with traffic light lenses originally used on the Bay Bridge before the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. (Brad Zweerink/Daily Republic)

BENICIA — Robert Quarrick didn’t want to see the pile of colored glass go to the dump.

Yet, the glass artist wasn’t quite sure what he could do with the material that had been laying in a dirt field.

The glass was traffic lenses from the Bay Bridge. Some pieces might date back to the bridge’s opening in 1936.

Quarrick purchased a couple of pieces of the glass and began experimenting. He liked what he saw and bought the remaining lenses.

Within six months, he created a collection of 200 free-form and functional pieces from the red, amber and blue-green lenses.

He preserved history while recycling.

And, hopefully, reduced his carbon footprint.

“Every one came out different,” Quarrick said, showing that some of the pieces shaped from the red glass adopted a coral tone in their final state.

In other instances, the amber glass became opaque, though Quarrick began working with a piece of translucent glass.

“It was a cool experience to get to do this,” said Quarrick, a lifelong Bay Area resident and retired high school art teacher.

The glass needed plenty of tender loving care just to prepare it for art. Some had rubber gaskets that needed to be removed.

Quarrick took fine steel wool, brushes and sponges to clean the lenses before he could fire them in a kiln.

He used vinegar to get the discoloration off some.

Quarrick estimated the lenses had been exposed to the elements for at least a decade. An acquaintance had purchased them after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake as the bridge lighting was replaced.

The friend’s wife was also a glass artist, but she died before she could do any work with the lenses.

The woman’s husband has seen Quarrick’s art and told him, “my wife would be proud,” Quarrick said.

He started with about 50 intact pieces, ranging from  8 1/4 inches to 12 inches in diameter. The finished sizes varied, depending on which mold Quarrick used for firing.

Each took about three hours to fire. His kiln temperatures varied from about 1,300 degrees to 1,530 degrees.

Detail was important at every step of the process. “Something as simple as a fingerprint could come out on the glass,” he said.

He broke a few in the process.

The majority of the glass was manufactured by Kopp Glass in Pittsburgh, which still manufactures traffic lenses, marking more than 80 years in business.

Fellow artist Peg Jackson is a fan of the collection.

“The history of it is pretty amazing,” she said. “Turning it into artwork makes it transcend the utilitarianism of it. They are really beautiful.”

Quarrick discovered his love of art in high school. Though he’s worked in various mediums, glass is his passion.

“I love the way the light shines through it and how the colors become so vibrant,” he said of working with glass.

His favorite piece from the collection, an amber plate, sits in his living room.

Now, he finds himself looking at traffic lights a little more closely.

Wasting no time, Quarrick is already working on his next collection, “American Peace,” that will showcase 12 to 15 different American flags on glass. When that’s done, he’s going to work on “International Peace” featuring international flags.

Quarrick’s Bay Bridge lens collection can be seen at his gallery in Benicia and can be viewed by calling 747-6960.

Reach Amy Maginnis-Honey at 427-6957 or amaginnis@dailyrepublic.net.

Short URL: http://www.dailyrepublic.com/?p=66726

Posted by Amy Maginnis-Honey on Jul 16 2011.

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