Earl McNeil's brief affair with kaleidoscopes has had long-term repercussions, as do most affairs. In fact, Earl is a masterful wood turner. He turned his skills to kaleidoscopes for about 5 years, creating a number of unique kaleidoscopes incorporating exotic and domestic woods.

Earl retired from making kaleidoscopes but retained his friendship with fellow artist, Luc Durette. Over the years, Earl has added insight and ideas to Luc's already inventive designs. Among his contributions, he taught Luc wood working on the lathe. Under the Sea is a collaboration between Luc and Earl. It is a stunning sculpture incorporating Madrona wood. Madrona is a tree that sheds its bark rather than its leaves, only once a year.

The classical 7-point image seems to come alive in the boldly colored glass sculptures created with the torch techniques Luc perfected from 1998-2000. Aptly named Under the Sea, you are reminded of a coral reef with incredible hues of jewel tone that are intense in their depth and variety. What is so exciting is the use of opaque and translucent glass in each little sculpture. Luc encased opaque white glass with translucent colors, then twisted, pulled, or textured each piece before forming it into the desired shape. Finally each one was embellished with colored dots, lines, twists etc. The results are organic shapes that are exceptional, nothing short of what you would expect from Luc Durette.

Numbered 4/5. Signed by both artists and dated 2000. It measures 12 inches tall x 9 3/4 inches long with a 3-inch diameter. The base measures 5 inches wide by 8 inches long.