Public Art – Firehouse Optic Crystal Bell

A stunning 400-pound optic crystal bell hangs from a metal stand mounted on a granite base in the lobby of the Firehouse Arts Center at 4444 Railroad Ave. Pleasanton. Commissioned by Gary and Nancy Harrington in the shape of a firehouse bell, it stands in tribute to the Pleasanton Fire Station No. 1 firefighters and all firefighters. It represents the historical bell once used in the old fire station which sounded a public notice of a fire in the community.  Today that historic building has been transformed into the Firehouse Arts Center.

The Firehouse Crystal Bell is composed of four types of glass – optic crystal, optic unleaded, starphire, and dichroic glass. In total, the bell is more than 8,000 pieces of glass and weighs more than 400 lbs. It sits on a granite base weighing 4,000 lbs. made by Bob Mattos. The metal frame stand was created by Tim Orr of Torr Industries.

Artist Jack Storms was born in 1970 in Exeter, New Hampshire, and attended Plymouth State University where he earned a degree in art, studio emphasis, with a minor in art history. During his junior year at Plymouth State, he worked for a glass artist who was experimenting with a technique combining lead crystal and dichroic glass using a cold-glass process. By 2004 Jack opened his own studio in Carmel Valley eventually moving to Valencia and finally to Red Bluff, California.

Jack’s quest for perfection led him to create a cold glass lathe, where he was able to turn glass like one would turn wood. This was quite impossible before. Working with blocks of lead crystal, he now could cut them several times, grinding and polishing each slice. Then, with careful precision, he inserts dichroic glass between the layers in every stage, pausing to glue and cure them before repeating the process. Finally, the creation must be hand polished.

The Firehouse Crystal Bell is 2 ft. high and by 2009, the largest optic piece attempted by the Master Optic Glass artist.  Smaller optic pieces would normally take 6-8 weeks for fabrication, but the Crystal Bell took two years from the original idea to completion in 2011. It is a standout in his extensive portfolio of magnificent works of art. Jack Storm has also created an emissary gift to the president of Nigeria and the awards for the Los Angeles Music Awards program.  

Retired Pleasanton Poet Laureate Deborah Grossman wrote a poem for the bell. It is engraved on the sculpture base. “Firefighters rush to answer bell’s call with strength to crumble danger’s wall. Bravery beyond belief without fear, The clear vision that heroes hold so dear.” It is an enduring tribute to all firefighters as is the light which shines on the Firehouse Optic Crystal Bell.

Jan Coleman-Knight