The anime series Violet Evergarden is an extraordinary story of loss, grief, and healing. It captivated me from the first time I watched the first episode. It's also the inspiration of a crafting project which has taken a year to complete.
This clock measures about 35 inches across and contains about 70 individual pieces of stained glass soldered with 60/40 tin/lead solder and washed with a copper patina. That glass panel is framed with zinc came shaped with a came bending jig, a mechanically simple but horrifying difficult tool to use. The panel is then encased in a plywood frame consisting of two concentric circles.
I painted the clock to frame to match the color of Violet's brooch which, of course, reflects the eye color of her beloved Major Gilbert. The blue of the vinyl numbers and the painted clock hands reflects the blue of Violet's eyes. They are intertwined lovers and colors.
Here is the image that served as the basis for my pattern. I think that it's one of the official wallpapers for the series.
One of the unique challenges of this project was finding a way to hold the shaft of the clock to the center of the glass. The glass alone was not thick enough for the job, nor could I shape it with the precision necessary to anchor the clock shaft.
So I designed in Tinkercad an object that clamps onto both sides and between two pieces of glass and provide just enough room for shaft to snugly stay in place. The sides are oval-shaped so that I could cut into the pieces of glass matching spaces with my glass grinder. I then printed the object on a Prusa i3 3D printer.
Violet Evergarden, which is available on Netflix, is a wonderful story for the ages. To me, making fan art means connecting to and expanding the stories that speak to the human experience.