Original Custom Lighting Designs
Grand scale and unique lighting fixtures

"Lewis and Clark Meet the Indians at Ross' Hole", the famous painting by Charlie Russell, is the inspiration for this pair of chandeliers (shown in this and the next panel). Made of solid bronze and cut & polished agate from the Yellowstone River in Montana, these two chandeliers convey a dynamic sense of symbolism.

One is like a coiled spring being released, symbolizing the impending western movement of "civilization." Once the process started, there was no turning it back. This is the chandelier holding the images of Lewis and Clark, Sacagawea, and a few Native Americans who have come out to meet them, as well as some of the Corps of Discovery.

The other is similar in appearance but very different in its symbolic meaning: The Native Americans have turned, going out to meet these strange new men rather than returning to the circle of their culture. This breaks the continuity of history, forever changed, though with unknown consequences.

All the images on these chandeliers are carved--not cast--from bronze, the same alloy as is used in fine art castings. We wanted this set to be an absolute original. There will never be another pair like these! The agates, coming from one of the Montana Rivers explored by Clark on the return trip adds a unique sense of place and time, as well as yielding the true color of the land explored.

These chandeliers are about 40" in diameter, and both hang in the same room, as if the two groups are approaching each other from some distance. This event was one of the more significant events to occur during the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

I am making a series of eight chandeliers depicting the Expedition, and will post them here as they are completed. These have been sold to a private collector.