Glass music by Julia Protkova. TEXT of the Exhibition. Part III. 34-38

EXHIBITION Glass music by Julia Protkova

TEXT Part I

TEXT Part II

34. Idea

Hello. Please take a moment to hear me out and listen to my vision.

Seventeen years ago, back in 2006, I worked as a research scientist in the field of new technologies and did interesting projects on an electron microscope. But one day, I began to have very strong and vivid thoughts and ideas. I was ordered to build a Coloured Glass World. I didn't know yet that I was bipolar, at that time I was making a stained-glass project Harmony of the World. And I became absolutely happy that I found the meaning of life and left everything - work, family, home, took my son and the unsoldered Harmony of the World and went towards the Dream.

You know, the longer I live the more I come to believe that building a Coloured Glass World is in fact possible. I am writing these words when the world is on the edge. Russia is my motherland. I lived there for 32 years, received an excellent education and gave birth to my son. I grew up there. But my home is in Canada. I have resided here for 25 years, my son grew up here, and here I found my calling as a glass artist. My Soul hurts for our World. And so I think that maybe instead of a confrontation, we have a competition? A standardized Global competition of human creativity. Let's create a Coloured Glass World with the whole World.

The point is this, in the beginning I propose to build a coloured-glass promenade a kilometer long and 10 meters wide within a year. Moreover, the first hundred meters of the promenade can be opened in a month from the start of coloured glass production. I propose to use standard factory-cut glass panels that are 60 x 60 cm in size on which we would create coloured glass designs daily. They would be photographed and uploaded to the web, and then would be placed on the roof of the promenade. This size is large enough, easy to use, and not too heavy. And so we would repeat the process thus creating a continuous cycle. We would create and install 80 coloured glass panels per day. This will require a shop with ten kilns and eighty tables. I have worked in factories and have experience in production. I am ready to help organize and provide consultation in matters of the workshop. 

It is obvious that I cannot fabricate eighty panels in a day by myself. Who will make these coloured panels? Volunteers who have watched my five-minute introduction video for learning the technique. The fact is that I have already created six prototypes back in 2021 and have something to show for it. Eighty people a day. You don't need any special skills, you’re just playing a game with coarse coloured sand of 72 shades. You can use one color, or you can use 72. Each person will create their own unique glass panel which will then be combined, forming an endless glass surface that can be used for the ceilings, walls, and other castles. This is unprecedented.

It seems to me that if we start, then the whole World will see this collective work of creation and will also begin to create Beauty. The Global Competition will begin - whose work of creation is richer. The world will be transformed in five years. The world will become more spiritually conscious. After all, we will gift Mother Earth our collective creativity manifested. Beauty will save the World. This will be the beginning of the Renaissance of mankind. 

I have been on disability pension due to bipolar disorder for eight years now. I am very grateful to the Quebec government and Montreal for their support during the most difficult years of my life. But I believe that my potential is not yet realized. Both as an artist and as a citizen of this world.

Creating a coloured glass panel will take two to three hours. If we take care of our World, our creation will remain for centuries. Let's create a collective Miracle. For the glory of the World, for the joy of us all. You can read the text of my proposal, see photos of me and see an example of a stained-glass promenade built in 1910 by clicking on the text link.

If you like my idea, allow me to reach out and be heard. Please. Tell your family and friends, colleagues and strangers about me. Say that there is a crazy Russian Canadian, Julia Protkova, who proposes to transform the World in five years. Laugh. Spread this joke far and wide. I'm looking for someone who appreciates the Beauty of an Idea.

Thank you for your time and attention

Cosmovitrail. Photo by @chylanga

35. Work with ideas

It is quite possible that I am reinventing the wheel. I would like to show you how I work with ideas. Here are six prototypes of instant fused panels IFP. Let me remind you, the standard size of a panel in my Coloured Glass World is supposed to be a 60x60 cm square. I don’t have a proper sized kiln yet, so I made prototypes that are 33 cm x 43 cm. Also, I used only 48 colours and not 72 - I chose the brightest and most distinct colours.

I was aware of the significance of the first prototypes that I was creating. I've been striving towards this for fifteen years. Therefore, I put my body and soul into these six works. I have dedicated these prototypes to the members of my Family. My family has played a very important role in my development as an artist. These instant fused panels are a reflection of my gratitude. The text that I wrote on each work is very important, but more on that later. Let's take a look at working with ideas.

So. The first work is called My Bipolar World. At the top - the sky and the sun. At the bottom - the night sky with the moon and stars. In the center - a symbolic image of our Earth, decorated with instant fused panels. This is my Dream - to create a Coloured Glass World and fly into space and see the World decorated with Coloured glass.

The idea behind the second instant fused panel is more structured than the first. I actually thought about making this panel two-coloured. Blue is me, orange is my son. This is my favorite colour combination. In the center - a baby in the womb - from that moment my love for my son began. The upper-left-quadrant is the close interactions of a mother and child in childhood and the gradual weakening of guardianship with the maturation of the son. The bottom-right is my son and I - two independent individuals who love each other, but respect each other's space. The remaining two quadrants (bottom-left to top-right) are lined with colours of glass that my son chose.

The third panel consists entirely of light colours. This was my mom's request. My mom sponsored my IFP prototypes. “Follow your dreams”, she said. That's what I called this panel, Follow Your Dream. I love my mom very much. She is my friend. I tried to create an image of absolute happiness. For myself, this is a lake in which I would swim all day long, a meadow with colourful flowers and a sky sprinkled with stars. But the night sky has been replaced by a shooting star as the symbol of my Dream.

The fourth panel is dedicated to my sister. I asked my sister to choose the colours she wanted and her selection closely resembled the shades seen at night. Thus, a new experiment was born - how would dark glass look? I named this panel Greetings from Montreal. What does it mean? You know, back in 2014, I signed the Golden Book of Montreal at the City Hall. In that book, I wrote, “My dear Montreal, I really hope that my art will make you even more beautiful.” So, my panel depicts my dreams of decorating Montreal in particular.

The fifth panel is very complex and colourful. It's called Remembering Youth and is dedicated to my ex-husband. He has been and continues to be friend and support for 36 years. Each colour and ornament signifies certain stages and events of our youth.

The sixth panel marks the completion of my experiments. It is called Music of Light and is dedicated to the memory of my Father. Here, I just allowed myself to just go with the flow. I was thinking of my Father and thanking him.

In conclusion, I showed you how I worked with ideas in making prototypes of instant fused panels. You can give symbolic meaning to colour, line, ornament and shape. This is your personal creativity. Let me assure you, this is an incredibly interesting process. It allows you to structure your thoughts and it allows you to see the idea in a new, coloured glass lens.

36. My Family.

Each instant fused panel is accompanied by a text. Writing the text with glass powder took more time than creating the panel itself. But I love to write lyrics, it's an important part of who I am as an artist. Accordingly, I will now read to you what I wrote.

First panel. This work is called My Bipolar World. It reflects my vision as a human and that of a glass artist. This is my first trial using this new technique which I am still developing. Julia Protkova. May 2021.

Second panel. This work is called All in all. It is a reflection of the love I have for my Son as well as the love, warmth and support I receive from him. It is an honour to have him as my Son. This is the second trial where I am using a new technique that I am developing. Julia Protkova. May 2021.

Third panel. This work is called Go for your Dream. These are words that my Mom said to me when she sponsored my recent glass experiments. This work is a tribute to my unique Mama. Trial #3. Julia Protkova. June 2021.

Fourth panel. This work is called Greetings from Montreal. It is dedicated to my Sister for her care and love. It is because of you that I can call Montreal home and I am very grateful for that, Trial #4. Julia Protkova. July 2021.

Fifth panel. This work is called Remembering Youth. It is dedicated to my ex husband, my friend and my support for 35 years Victor Protkov. It was you who introduced me to art. It was you who taught me how to create. Trial #5. Julia Protkova. July-November 2021.

Sixth panel. This project is called Music of Light. It is dedicated to the memory of my father Professor Steve Globe (1938-2020). This is the final test in my study on Instant Fused Panels. This work summarizes my steps to develop this technique. Test #6. Julia Protkova. November 2021.

Let me say a few more words. I have the pleasure and good fortune of being able to watch over these panels day and night. I have seen and know how beautiful classic stained glass windows are. My instant fused panels IFPs shine just as well. Throughout the day, there are special moments where they reflect the sun in mesmerizing ways. I am convinced that this technique is very promising, beautiful, and rapid to perform.

37. UNIT

We are completing the tour of the exhibition Glass Music by Julia Protkova. The last work you see is my first Unit. These are my first six instant fused panels IFPs that were digitally put together. They illustrate my idea of creating an endless coloured glass surface, where each cell is a fused panel with its own composition and idea. But together they form an infinite coloured glass surface that is marvelous to behold, luminous and iridescent. I hope someday to create such spaces in reality.

38. Contact information

I have shown you the best of my work, told you about myself and I hope that you have enjoyed my glass music.

Please send all questions, suggestions and inquiries to my email at juliartglass@gmail.com

If you would like to support my work and creativity, I would be very grateful to you.
My PayPal @juliartglass.


My instagram @julia_protkova
My twitter @juliartglass
My facebook Julia Protkova
My telegram channel (in Russian) @juliartglass

bio.site/juliaprotkova

Glass music by Julia Protkova. TEXT of the Exhibition. Part II. 13-33.

EXHIBITION Glass music by Julia Protkova

TEXT Part I

13. Cities from Nuremberg Chronicles 1493

In front of you is a series of cities from one of the first books printed in Europe - the Nuremberg Chronicles of 1493. This is a stunningly beautiful book with a large number of illustrations that are waiting to be made in glass. The work was done by placing glass powder particles with the help of a needle. Each work of this size takes about 70 hours to make. I love to replicate my work. I use different shades of glass and it gives different musical effects. Sometimes, it seems to me that I hear every particle of glass powder in my works.

14. Series My Van Gogh.

My Van Gogh series is the result of my admiration for Van Gogh's work. There are already five works in my collection. Van Gogh is not just an idol for me. He is believed to have had bipolar disorder, and in being bipolar myself, I feel more attuned to him. The leftmost work is called Irises. Inspired by Van Gogh. I call it the Bipolar Disorder Study. I worked on it for seven months, once a week. The year was 2018. It was the fourth year of my worst depression. At that time, I only had the strength enough for one day of glasswork. When working on this piece, I suddenly started to have glassy thoughts. I haven't had any in four years. It was incredible. I could think of glass again. And I began to come to life. I began to have strength again. The end of Irises marks the end of my depression.

Irises 2022 and Starry Night are made using my relatively new technique, which I have just begun to explore. This material is a glass medium-sized frit. Pay attention to the shimmering effect of the Irises.

Van Gogh's work Road with Cypress in my interpretation is called the Pilgrim's Road. This work is about me, I am the pilgrim who goes home and tries to tell people about how beautiful our Universe is. I love the Road but my home means a lot to me too. I am on my way.

Van Gogh's The Courtesan is based on a painting by the Japanese artist Eisen. In my interpretation, she is called a Geisha, I changed the color of the kimono and added a few creative touches. It is known that Van Gogh was a fan of Japanese art and I share this passion.

15. Series My sailing ships

I am in love with sailing ships. I am enamoured by their shape and form and mesmerized by their beauty. The stained-glass project Scarlet Sails was made in 2004 and has a secondary name of Faith Through the Storm. This is one of my very first stained glass works. The Sky, sun and sea are cut from the same piece of glass. In 2019, I decided to repeat the same design. This work is called Flying Ship, it flies from the night to the sun. Made under the direction of Rock Laplante. I asked permission to put Rock's name on this work and he didn't mind.

And there is another sailing ship made in powdered glass. This is Admiral Nelson's flagship.

The series of sailing ships will definitely be continued.

16. Bouquet (2010)

This work is called Bouquet. It was created in 2010. This is one of my first fusing experiences. The work was created from a drawing by Marc Chagall.

17. Geisha and giraffe (2013)

Geisha and giraffe work is my reflection on human perception and thinking. If I put a miniature geisha and the tallest animal in the world in the same picture, and make the geisha taller than the giraffe, what do you imagine? A giant geisha or a baby giraffe?

18. Leo (2010)

Mosaic Leo was made in 2011 and is my very first mosaic. For me, this is a very important project. I tried to create a portrait-like image of a particular person, in this case it was my teacher in postgraduate school. He means a lot to me. I owe him my development as a person. He opened the Arctic and the World for me. His name was Leo. I placed a medieval Leo (lion) in a very intricate environment. You see a space that is very complex in color and dynamics. Leo has the incredible fortitude and charisma to get through this enclosed space. You can see the portals opening.

19. Alien Cat (2021)

If in the previous mosaic my hero was a medieval lion who suddenly appeared in an ultra-modern space, then the Alien Cat is my vision of an otherworldly self. Let me read to you what I wrote on this work. This work is called Alien Cat (Attempt #3). This is a re-creation in glass of self-portrait by Yayoi Kusama (2009) that uses a different color scheme. Yayoi Kusama is my role model, my guiding star and my inspiration. I admire her talent and her passionate dedication towards art. This work is a tribute to her. This is my third attempt to re-create this Cat. I hope for success. Glass work and technique by Julia Protkova. 2021.

20. My Escher

Maurice Cornelius Escher is a person I greatly admire. To date, I have created four recreations of Eschers - two in powder and two in stained glass.

The Fish Fantasy on your left is a glass reproduction I created in 2021 of an Escher work called Fish and Scales which is a black and white woodcut. In my work, I introduced color. Recreating Escher's work in glass is a complex process. It takes almost a hundred hours to complete a 25 x 25 cm piece. But, it's very interesting.

The most recent work - completed in October 2022 - is called Chameleon Love. Again, this is a recreation of the woodcut titled Stars. In my work, the main premise is set on the Chameleons, while the stars are just decorations for my thoughts. Let me read to you what I wrote at work.

This work is called Chameleon Love. This is a re-creation in glass of the woodcut Stars by M. C. Escher (October 1948). I changed the color scheme of the work in order to highlight my idea. For me, this work is about the Love of two beings who are close in spirit and who are able to adapt to each other's characteristics in such a way that they are able to coexist in a narrow space. Glass work and technique by Julia Protkova. 2022.

21. Divine Creations

The next three works are my thoughts on God and his divine creations. The Mosaic Broken Infinity - these are my thoughts on the fragility of human civilizations, the change of Gods. This work was planned for several years as I collected shades of blue glass for it. Once upon a time superhumans lived. They could fly and communicate with their thoughts. They were given the Higher Knowledge. And suddenly, in an instant, their civilization collapsed. A new civilization came to replace it, with new gods. But the Higher knowledge was lost. Numerous fragments remained, but no one has yet been able to read them.

The work Six Days of Creation is a glass recreation of a picture from a 12th-century German manuscript. I created this work in six days. Every day, I made only one circle - one day of Creation. It was a very interesting creation experience. This work is the beginning of my series of works on the Creation of the World. I am extremely interested in this topic.

The work Insight on Love will show you a picture recreated in glass from the Spanish manuscript of Beatus. I am in love with medieval manuscripts in general, and Beatus in particular. I dream of creating a whole series of works based on Beatus. In front of you, you see Adam and Eve. They didn't just sin but have also known love. I think this is a very interesting angle.

22. Musical Improvisations (2004)

In front of you is a musical wall. These are the works in which I tried to embody specific music or write my own. The first three stained glass works are called Musical Improvisations and were made in 2004. This is my very first experience of transmitting music into glass. I used my sister's design to create these stained glass works, but the glass that I chose was inspired by my favorite music. The first stained glass piece is called The Winter's Tale and it's a waltz from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker. The second work is Jazz, inspired by the song Summertime performed by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. And finally, the third stained-glass piece is called Tango - this is sensual-passion music.

23. Musician (Glenn Gould). (2014)

This work is called The Musician. This is a silhouette portrait of Glenn Gould, the famous Canadian pianist. I’m in love with his performances. His performances of Bach and Beethoven's sonatas have been playing in my glass shop for years. I listen to his music over and over again. At the time when I was working on this portrait, I was listening to Beethoven's sonatas that were performed by Glenn Gould. Thus, the color of the work is my vision of Beethoven at that time. There is no piano here. There is a Musician sitting in his favorite chair making magical music.

24. My own music and dance (2021-2022)

In front of you are three works - these are my own music and my own dance. The first work was done with glass powder. It is called Symphony number one and there are about 80 color shades and melodies of glass. This is my first attempt at composing fused glass music in 2021. This is the very beginning of my many works of my own music. This is how I see and hear. The next work is called My Caprice, created in 2022. It suddenly occurred to me to create it and I put aside all other projects to work on this. The next work is called Flamenco by Julia Protkova. I am the one dancing the flamenco. Inspired by a recent trip to Spain and Andalusia which I have dreamed about visiting for fifteen years. This work is the reflection inspired from my amazing trip. If you look closely, I have a red spot instead of my face. It means that I am tired, out-of-breath and flushed from the dance. This is the work of 2022.

25. Takeoff. (2021)

Takeoff was created in 2021, almost immediately after my father passed away. I lost a Teacher and someone I was spiritually close to. This is sorrowful music. The whole work is deeply symbolic. Each color represents my father's main hobbies - a philosopher, a professor and an avid fisherman. You can see the Globe slowly rising up from the surface. This is the ascension of the Soul.

26. My Bestiary (November 2012)

I have already shown you a lot of works made by me from glass powder. I've been trying to tame powder for four years and I wasn’t happy with the results. You can see here my very first works in my own technique of drawing with glass powder, created in November 2012. This is my medieval zoo. I love medieval manuscripts in general and bestiaries in particular. This is an endless series. I timed the opening of my exhibition to the day of November 15, on this day ten years ago the first ten works were fused and it was a success for me. I love my bestiary very much.

27. My Grotesques (2013-2014)

Here is another endless series - Grotesques. These are also recreations of pictures of medieval manuscripts. I am fascinated by these medieval drawings. These are examples of unbridled fantasy. These works span 2013-2014.

28. My Tigers

The leftmost tiger is called the Beast. This was my very first fusing experience back in 2008. It is based on a calligraphic drawing by the Sudanese artist Hassan Musa. I love my Beast. The other two tigers were made in 2013 and 2021. This is my recreation in glass of the same photograph of a tiger. I was interested to see how I grew. Both works are made with glass powder.

29. Eyes (2014) and Eyes of depression (2022)

The project called Eyes is two plates made in 2014 that are based on a drawing by Daniel Hopfer from 1515. I made my own color interpretation. I didn't know back then that I was bipolar. In 2022, I repeated the same design and called it Eyes of Depression. I will read to you what is written on the work. This work is called Eyes of Depression. This is a re-creation in glass of the grotesque by Daniel Hopfer, created around 1515-1520. I changed the color scheme of the original. This work is meant to remember the darkest period of my life - four years of endless depression. I did not know how to live my life after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I lost myself. I became afraid of people. I had to re-learn how to live. Glass work and technique by bipolar artist Julia Protkova. 2022.

30. Works created in manic state (end of 2014)

Here are two works that were created in a feverish manic state a month before my hospitalization at the mental hospital. I already understood that something was wrong with me and these works are a reflection of those days. The first is called Samurai Girl and Sunflower. The samurai girl is a drawing of my sister, given to me with the written words, “My sister is a warrior”. That is, I, a samurai girl, barely able to keep my balance on the falling sunflower petals. And the second work is called The Burning of the Library of Alexandria. You see me, an owl, crying over the loss for humanity. This was my state-of-mind during those days.

31. Owl (2021) and Thousand Flowers (2013)

Here is another Owl, created in 2021. The next work is called Thousand Flowers and is a very fine recreation of the famous tapestry from the Lady with the Unicorn series. It was created in 2013 after long hours of work.

32. Great Magicians

These three projects come from different source material but are united under my series, Great Magicians. Prophet Elijah is the recreation of the XVII century Greek icon. The image of Hermes Trismegistus is taken from an alchemy book (1624) and the image of Merlin is my interpretation from the Disney film animation Sword in the Stone.

33. Angel with golden hair (2013), plates Star (2020) and Galaxy (2020)

Angel with golden hair is a recreation in glass of the XII century icon that bears the same name. On the right you see a pair of decorative plates called Star and Galaxy. This concludes the second part of the exhibition.

TEXT Part III

Glass music by Julia Protkova. TEXT of the Exhibition. First part. 1-12.

EXHIBITION Glass music by Julia Protkova

1. Introduction

Hello. Welcome to the exhibition Glass music by Julia Protkova. For your convenience, the exhibition is divided into three parts. The first contains my key signature works. They are enough to show my range and skill level. If you want to delve deeper into my music, the second part of the exhibition is at your service. The third section will show you my latest developments and ideas.

There is a guided tour in English. The story about the works in Russian is located in the audiolink under each work.

2. Red dot. 2015. Mosaic. 60х60 см

Mosaic Red Dot was created in 2015 immediately after three months in the mental hospital. My whole life collapsed, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and I did not know how to live on. And then I remembered myself. Young, strong, brave and beautiful. The mosaic was made from a 1990 photograph, where I am 25 years old. I am sitting on the shores of the Arctic Ocean and smoking the strongest Russian cigarette Belomor. These are the years I worked as a geologist in the Russian Arctic on the New Siberian Islands, from 1987-1991. I am dressed in an expeditionary jacket with my hair a little messy deep in thought. And this thoughtfulness, I carried throughout the years. The red dot of the cigarette burns - this means that life goes on.

Although this work was created in a moment of despair, it is a very life-affirming work. Let this woman be your guide to this exhibition today.

3. Sunrise Flower. 2010. Витраж. 60х60 см

When I was creating Sunrise Flower in 2010, I did not know what the design would be. I had been living in Montreal for two years with my son, returning late at night after work and continuing to work on my stained glass. I was torn between glass and my son. But my son has been and remains my greatest support all these years. This is a very difficult stained glass work. And so I, blindly, intuitively, moved from the center of the piece to the edges. If you focus your eyes in the center, you will see the illusion of volume, but if you look at the edges, you will get the feeling that it is spinning. This stained glass is my emblem, my logo, my calling card.

4. Ornamental Fantasy. 2011. Stained glass. 84 см х 124 см.

Ornamental fantasy is my largest stained glass work. In this work, I played with the illusion of volume. If you look at the sphere, you will see numerous axes of rotation, that is, visually the sphere is spinning in different directions and in different planes. I wrote a short explanation for this stained glass work. There are small cubes flying in the sky. They represent the human souls and other pieces of the Universe. They are flying in the sky and sometimes falling to the earth, forming a beautiful ornament consisting of human lives.

In this ornament one can see different orders and various patterns. They represent different human connections and different life paths. Souls are leaving from the earth and returning back to the sky and in time they will fall back down. This is the process of reincarnation, the process of a continuous life cycle in the Universe.

5. Glass Herd of Durer's Rhinos

There are four rhinos in front of you.I call them Glass Herd of Durer’s Rhinos. . This is Albrecht Dürer's famous engraving called Rhinoceros, created in 1515 and re-created in glass. Interestingly, Dürer never saw a rhinoceros, this drawing is a figment of his imagination.

In 2012, I made the mosaic you see on the left, which I called Ways of Imagination. I wanted to come up with a colour scheme for the Rhino. This is a very fine, detailed and intricate mosaic in which I used rare pieces of glass. This work is a hymn to the genius of Dürer and a hymn to coloured glass. On the right, you see three rhinos made with a technique called fusing. All three works are created with a needle and glass powder. This is my own technique that I came up with, I work with and I continue to further develop. But Dürer's Rhinos stand apart in my glass work. This is the pinnacle of my technique, this is Everest, just so that you understand the significance of these works for me. Why did I make three rhinos? Starting with the first, I realized that I could not accurately reproduce Dürer's masterpiece. By doing the second, my skill had grown, but the third is the most accurate reproduction. These three Rhinos took me a year to complete. There is a movie on my YouTube channel about the creation of the Glass Herd of Durer’s Rhinos

6. Harmony of the World. 2006 - 2008. Stained glass. 110 см х 150 см

The works on this wall will tell you about me. I am a self-taught artist. In 2003, I attended a two-day stained glass workshop. And so, my new life began. I fell in love with colored glass and was captivated. I lived in Calgary back then, worked as a research scientist and was an expert in electron microscopy, but the glass was slowly but surely crowding out everything else. I started making very complex and very ambitious stained glass projects with little to no experience, but with a great desire. In those days, I only made stained-glass works.

In 2006, I conceived a stained-glass work called Harmony of the World. Our world, unfortunately, is far from harmonious. Is harmony possible? Is a world without hatred, based on tolerance, possible? It was while working on this stained glass piece that I realized that I wanted to become a glass artist. I believed in myself and in my talent.

Every color, every detail in this work has a symbolic meaning. I wrote a meditation for this stained glass work. It is this piece that inspired someone to write music that you can hear on my youtube channel.

Harmony of the World was invented and cut in Calgary in 2006-2007, but was only able to solder it in Montreal in 2008. Against the backdrop of the starry sky, Harmony is dancing. I am an idealist, I dream that the world will become kinder.

8. God the Geometer. 2012. Powder fusing. 19 cm x 24 cm  and Homo Explorer. 2019.  Powder fusing. 25 x 31 cm

God the Geometer was created in 2012 and is a recreation in glass of a 13th century medieval manuscript picture. For me, this work is priceless. This work is my personal icon, a witness to my life's twists and turns, my joys and tears. It is made with multicolored glass powder using my own technique. God the Geometer was one of the first works in my newly emerging technique. Looking back, I understand that it was a very brave step - to aim for such a high level of work, when the technique was not yet fully developed.

On the right, you see a kneeling pilgrim who has found a loophole and is listening to the Universe. This work is called Homo Explorer. This piece is again made using glass powder, 7 years later in 2019 where you can see the technique is much more refined. This work is my own color interpretation of the famous Flammarion engraving made in 1888. I see myself here, I am the pilgrim. I show these two works together because they complement each other. See? The pilgrim saw God the Creator. He hears.

9. My Soul. 2021. Powder fusing. 33 см х 43 см

First, let me read to you what is written. Hello. My name is Julia Protkova. I am a Russian-Canadian. I am 56 years old.You see my hands as a 55 year old woman who is a glass artist. You see me a a 7 year old girl. This is what my Soul looks like. My Soul loves coloured glass, my family and the World at large. I want to color the World with my glass. Hello World. Nice to meet you. This work is called My Soul. This work was made using my technique called drawing with glass powder. August 2021.

If you pay attention to the hands - the contour was applied on the back of the glass. That is, my right hand is on your left, and my left hand is on your right. We can say hello and greet each other. However, My soul is fragile and has the look of a seven-year-old girl with a stubborn look.

Why did I do this project? I understand that I am a grain of sand in our World. But I want to create large glass projects and will show you my ideas at the end of the exhibition.

10. Aelita. 2015. Mosaic. 60 см х 60 см

We started this exhibition by looking at my mosaic work called Red Dot. The mosaic Aelita was created at the same time. If in the Red Dot I desperately thought about how to live on, then Aelita is my impressions of myself going crazy before entering the mental hospital. That is, Aelita dances a crazy, unrestrained dance. For the first time ever, I used other materials, not only glass. There are computer disks, beads and wool. That is, Aelita is a study of my madness.

10. Divine Beauty. 2004. Stained glass. 150 см х 50 см. Passion. 2021. Stained glass. 29 см х 70 см

You can see two of my stained-glass works. The lower one is called Divine Beauty and was created in 2004. This is one of my first stained glass works. It's not technically perfect, but it's aesthetically beautiful. I have spent endless hours contemplating my stained glass works including this one. There is a story associated with this piece. In the winter of 2006, our house caught fire. I remember my shock when I entered the burnt house and saw the burnt wall and the broken window in the kitchen where my Divine Beauty was hanging without a single scratch.

The Stained glass piece called Passion was created in 2021. This is my exploration of the feeling of passion and my passionate obsession with glass. Since 2016, I have been making my stained glass works under the guidance of a professional, Rock LaPlante. Rock teaches me the secrets of stained glass art and I am immensely grateful to him for this. Each color in the stained-glass work Passion is symbolic. For example, the ash-dark frame signifies emotional burnout, the glass background with raindrops represents my tears on the stained glass path. But in general, my passion is a delightfully wonderful feeling.

11. Flow (2014) and Prayer (IX-2022)

The stained glass piece called Flow was created in 2014. I had a very busy day, I was overstressed and could not fall asleep. I had a small stained glass work made in 2009 that I called Frozen Flower, which you can see in the center. And so at night I came to my glass workshop, put Frozen Flower on the desktop and cut the entire stained-glass piece in a few hours. I didn’t have any design in my head at the time, it was pure impromptu. I really like it for its conciseness and movement

The work Prayer is a conceptual work. It was conceived suddenly and created in September 2022. The prayer is addressed to God the Geometer - the Creator of the Worlds. I often turn to God in my works. I have no doubt that there is a Supreme Intelligence in the Universe. I am convinced that we know very little about the world around us. The work Prayer has undergone numerous changes in ideas and design, and as a result turned into a piece of the starry sky. This work is not like any of my other works, although I have created several works with starry skies. Despite the randomly scattered constellations, there is a Higher Order here. It is not visible, I deliberately hid it, but it is there. There are Beacon Stars here that form the structure and Curtain Stars that hide the structure. There is a movie on my youtube channel on how I created this work.

12. Dance of the Universe. 2014. Fusing. 122 см х 183 см

In front of you is my largest work created in the fusing technique. This is very important work. This is the scheme of the Universe as I see it. I am convinced that everything consists of music. If you look at the sun from the left, you will see a ray that reaches the rhombus and triangle. This is the Beginning of Everything. If you look at the rhombus and the triangle, you will see how they begin to change and intensify as new colours are added to them. This is a dance. This is the dance of the universe. The lower right quadrant looks like an abstract painting, but it's not. If you look closely, you will see a map of the world. This is a tectonic map of the world, which I laid out with tweezers grain by grain. I graduated with honours from the geological faculty of Moscow University. That was in 1988, a very long time ago. But it shaped my worldview. For me, this map is like musical notes. After all, our Earth is alive, it breathes, it sounds. In the upper left corner you see God. I am convinced that there is a Supreme Intelligence in the Universe. The rest of the space is filled with a starry sky - these are stars and galaxies, which also consist of music. Above the tectonic map on the right, above Russia, there are two polar bears - these represent my years of work in the Russian Arctic and a lullaby from a Russian cartoon, which I sang to my son. On the left side, above Canada, are the figures of a seated woman and a boy standing on one arm. This is my son and I. I am thinking and my son is dancing. That is, in the center of my Universe - my son and I. And all around us is music.

On this wall is another picture - this is a magnified view of a detail in the Dance of the Universe - exactly the scene where my son and I are located. Pay attention to the glass particles from which the Dance of the Universe is made. It was my first time working with this material and I was delighted with it.

This is the end of the first part of my exhibition.

Text PART II

Text PART III