For No Other Purpose Than to Enjoy: Custom Glassworks by Rakshasa Glass Studios

Creatio Ex Nihilo: “Creation from nothing.”

For custom makers, there are no pre-existing plans or designs to follow, no patterns that must be emulated, no products that must be built per schedule and then sit on shelves, real or virtual, waiting to be purchased by consumers.

For custom consumers, their projects begin with a single question: “What do I want?”

Designer, artist, instructor, and motorcycle enthusiast Louis Spahni of Rakshasa Glass Studios can create “just about anything” from “just about everything,” including beautiful custom glasswork jewelry and sculptures.  “A significant percentage of the things I make were asked for once,” he explains.  Peruse his CustomMade portfolio and you’ll find an amazing variety of pieces, from Angry Birds and Evil Pigs to a miniature snowman, that his clients have desired, imagined, and requested.

Angry Birds, "Fun and Whatever," by Rakshasa Glass Studios at CustomMade.com

Miniature Snowman, "Fun and Whatever," by Rakshasa Glass Studios at CustomMade.com

How comfortable are you with your desires?

Spiders by Rakshasa Glass Studios at CustomMade.com

For many people, custom can be scary.  It’s easier to fall back on familiar, prepackaged things than face that “nothing” from which our wishes seem to spring, that “what-do-I-want?” precipice.  Perhaps the popularity of spiders as subjects for Louis’s custom made glass pieces is itself an expression of the daring it takes to express individuality.  Perhaps, writes Louis, these “sinister cool” pieces are saying “that you are the master of your own destiny and should take charge in weaving the future you desire.”  These sculptures can feature either solid or blown glass abdomens made from Glass Alchemy glass and can range in size from a quarter to a dinner plate in diameter.

This fellow is definitely closer to dinner plate size. Spiders by Rakshasa Glass Studios at CustomMade.com

Desire.  Another subject both frightening and popular.  No two glass hearts Louis creates are alike.  “Its always interesting to me,” he says, “to see which one is chosen and by whom.  As jewelry or sculpture, the reaction is always positive.”  You can, of course, commission your own special design in the style and color of your choice.

Hearts by Rakshasa Glass Studios at CustomMade.com

Whether you’d like a version of something you’ve discovered in the Rakshasa Glass Studios gallery or want something new, contact Louis and discuss your ideas.  He will meet you halfway.  He writes:

Glass, tin, feathers, leather, poly, whatever.  I make lots of things with lots of things and will happily try to make you what you want.  See things for what they could be, and they could be just about anything.  I will work with you to create a something that sings to you.  There’s always a Starbucks somewhere.

He'll just have a Venti Frappuccino. Hopefully. Octos by Rakshasa Glass Studios at CustomMade.com