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Blount Countians will soon get to see the Clayton Center for the Arts' outdoor arts plaza bathed in the effervescent glow of 1,700 handblown glass orbs that adorn 14 chandeliers in the building's grand foyer.

Massey Electric Company recently assembled the chandelier's functional components, performed all the electrical work and installed the motorized units that slowly lift the fixtures, said Charlie Norton, national sales manager for Jefferson/Lightsmith.

Workers later put between eight and 10 feet of aircraft cable in each port, said Michelle Clodfelter, a Lighting Trends sales representative.

The designers Monday afternoon started hanging glass orbs on the lobby's 14 chandeliers and were expected to finish today, Norton said. Two half sconces will be in the audience chamber, Tallent said.

"It's really rewarding and impressive to see the culmination of countless people's talents in this completed project," Norton said. At least 50 people with five companies have been involved in designing and installing the fixtures, he said.

Paul Clements, who performs glass work for Jefferson/Lightsmith, oversaw the glassblowing project. About 15 glassmiths at five different studios worked seven days a week in November 2008 to make the 1,700 glass orbs, he said.

Clements provided Brian Pittman, an interior designer with McCarty Holsaple McCarty, with orb samples. Initial samples were too perfect and needed more texture, bubbles, cracks and ribs, Pittman said. "We wanted to have consistency through inconsistency."

None of the orbs is identical, Tallent said.