Light Painting Mats Jonasson’s Otters Playing

One of the most delightful pieces of Målerås Glass is Mats Jonasson’s Otters Playing – two twisting otters chasing a fish, all embedded within a matrix of sheer lead crystal glass. I wanted to see if I could use light painting to add the effect of a flow of liquid to his creation so I set up a black table outside at night and dragged a fibre optic light whip very slowly and gently beneath the otters. The street lights behind add some nice depth to this picture.

Then I tried whisking the light whip past quickly – almost as if I was opening a curtain – to give the effect of the otters being in a current of water. You can see the result below. I’d be delighted to hear what you think! Full size images are in my light painting showcase.

My own two otters were bought in a shop on Kungsgatan, Uddevalla many years ago and carried by hand luggage all the way home to South Africa . The airport officials were very intrigued as their scanning machinery could only see the shape of the lead crystal and so the otters were brought out, unwrapped and scrutinised three times!