Talking Out Your Glass Podcast

Charting new territory in functional glass art, Patrick McDougall and Subliminal Glass redefine what is possible in terms of size and complexity of their builds, made possible by utilizing a team approach to fabrication. Taking risks with every large, complicated boro art pipe, Subliminal Glass is highly recognizable by its inclusion of characters from the Simpsons, Mario Brothers, and Rick and Morty. One recent tube displayed 14 partying classic Looney Tunes characters in perfectly intricate detail. “It’s not common for boro artists to want to go really large and elaborate due to the risks involved with that kind of construction,” says McDougall. “I think training so many artists has helped a lot. The team dynamic is something that hasn’t really been taken advantage of in our industry.” At age 19, inspired by heady glass in local shops, McDougall headed to Portland, Oregon, where he began an apprenticeship making straight shooter pipes on a lathe in exchange for lessons in benchwork. Now, from his 1000-foot

Toland Sand: Vibration of the Mysteries When a friend gave Toland Sand a stained glass studio in 1977, he embarked upon a journey that would lead him to explore the myriad qualities that define glass as a medium. Sand’s 45 years as a sculptor has resulted in works of stained glass, blown glass, and every combination in between. A pioneer in utilizing the unique properties of dichroic glass, Sand begins his current sculpture with optical crystal and dichroic coated glass, hand worked by grinding in ever finer stages until a polish is achieved. Seeking balance, harmony, and symmetry, with an accent on deconstructed form, his work inhabits the symbolic, the cosmic, and the mystery. Inspired by his peers as well as artists such as Isamu Noguchi, David Smith, Henry Moore, and Mark Rothko, Sand says: “I love that images can come and go, are made bold, and then disappear; are reflective and then not. The energetic and mystical side comes from the teachings of my spiritual Master, Sant Kirpal Singh, by whose instruct

  On the first episode of the Netflix glassblowing series Blown Away, Deborah Czeresko introduced herself as having “a polarizing personality; I have lovers, and I have haters.” Winner of the competition, the New York based, 58-year-old, queer female artist with 30 years of glass experience was awarded $60,000 and a two-week residency at the Corning Museum of Glass (CMoG). Wrote Casey Lesser on Artsy: “In a similar vein to Project Runway or Top Chef, Blown Away gathers glass artists to compete in creating innovative artworks. And while some contestants in the show’s first season crumbled under challenges that required conceptual depth, Czeresko thrived. Asked to make botanicals, she procured a set of oddly poetic potatoes; summoned to imagine a futuristic robotic device, she fashioned the Man-Bun in the Oven, an external womb for men to wear to gestate; and during a food challenge, she managed to make tacos appear über-elegant through a set of Venetian-style dishes. Her pièce de résistance was an installation

  The Nature of Hallie Monroe’s Autonomous Panels With nature as her muse, stained glass artist Hallie Monroe recently completed two ground-breaking autonomous panels. The first references a recent study on octopus intelligence. It depicts her imaginings of what cephalopods could do with the car keys, sunglasses and smartphones routinely dropped overboard and into the ocean by humans. The other illustrates the heart-wrenching effects of 2019’s summer fires on the world’s wildlife.  “These are not your grandmother’s church windows. I wanted to explore topics that go beyond the blonde Jesus interpretations I have painted so many times to speak about modern topics of climate change and society.” A graduate of the Pratt Institute with a BFA in Illustration, Monroe’s experience as a glass painter is vast and includes All Saints Episcopal Church’s Chapel of Ease in Barbados (2006 – 2009); Conrad Pickel Studios, Vero Beach, Florida, where she worked on one of the largest stained glass windows in the US for Hendricks

Dark and beautiful, Bertil Vallien’s sculpture takes the viewer on a mystical journey through the subconscious. Part oracle, part art object - his boats, maps and heads reveal existential secrets through a series of symbols and codes embedded in a glass matrix that appears to contain light. Sweden’s most innovative and well-known contemporary glass artist, Vallien pioneered sand casting in the 1980s and began creating sculptures in glass that inspired his now famous quote: “Glass eats light.”   Born in 1938 in Sollentuna, a suburb north of Stockholm, Vallien studied ceramics at the Konstfack School of Arts, Crafts, and Design in Stockholm, then spent two years at the School for Advanced Industrial Design. At Konstfack, he graduated at the top of his class and was awarded a Royal Foundation grant. His love of ceramics took him to Los Angeles for a position with HAL Fromholt Ceramics, and soon he was meeting artists, critics, and gallery owners, attending events at California universities, and exhibiting his ce

Defying familiar branding practices, Snic Barnes prefers exploring uncharted aesthetic and technical territory, creating works that range from electroplated pipes reminiscent of Steampunk machines to his current complex functional sculpture incorporating varied motifs. The combination of his unique style and groundbreaking processes put this pioneer of mixed media pipes on the map beginning in the late 1990s. A Philadelphia-based artist, Snic discovered glassblowing in 1997 at The Crefeld School. Subsequently the 17-year-old spent a year traveling the East Coast, supporting himself by selling glass pipes at concerts and festivals. These experiences cemented a lifelong involvement in psychedelic counterculture. To advance his glass working skills, in 1999 Snic enrolled at The Appalachian Center for Craft in Smithville, Tennessee, and later studied at the Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York.  Snic’s work has been exhibited at the National Liberty Museum, SCOPE Miami, Joseph Gross Gallery, SOFA Art Fair,

Tali Grinshpan: Connecting Thoughts about Homeland and the Internal Landscape of Memory Bay Area artist Tali Grinshpan seeks to create intimate spaces of reflection where the past speaks to the transient present. In her 2019 solo show at Bullseye Bay Area Gallery titled Longing for the (Home)Land כיסופים למולדת, multi-generational stories of immigration were told via delicate pâte de verre forms that recall curling flower petals or silky folds of fabric.  Grinshpan says: “I explore the fragility of nature and human existence by using organic materials to create forms that burn out in the kiln. Their remnants speak of the spirit and beauty of what once existed.” Born and raised in Tel Aviv, Israel, Grinshpan earned a B.A. and M.A. in Business and Psychology from Tel Aviv University. A variety of art mediums were a source of interest and exploration since childhood. Travels around the world with her family were also important in her development as an artist. In 2004, the artist moved to and currently resides in

Celebrating its 40th year, Glass Artists of Colorado (GAC) creates opportunities for education, sharing, promotion and friendship. Established in 1979 under the name Glass Artists Fellowship, GAC offers its members monthly educational meetings, artist slideshows, demonstrations, information, seminars, workshops, guest lectures, and field trips. Originally comprised of stained glass artists only, over the years membership has grown and evolved to reflect the dynamic nature of art glass in Colorado.   Says president, Deborah Carlson: “With the closing of most, if not all, retail and teaching shops in Colorado, clubs like ours are a necessity to keep the glass artists in our area involved and informed about the outside glass community and give support to this medium. The Morgan Adams Project, as well as our bi-annual support of Beads of Courage, provides us with an opportunity to come together, share, and focus on our community.” Currently, GAC is coordinating a special project in conjunction with The Morgan Ada

Tim Tate: Alternate Paths In 1989, Tim Tate received an HIV-positive diagnosis and was told he had one year to live. The terrible news inspired him to follow a dream he’d had since the age of 9 when he visited the Corning Museum of Glass. Driven to use the time he had left to become a glass artist, Tate travelled to Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina for the first in an intensive succession of classes. Penland and the artwork made during this time saved his life. A Washington, D.C. native, Tate has been working with sculpture now for 30 years. Co-Founder of the Washington Glass School, his artwork is part of the permanent collections of a number of museums, including the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum and the Mint Museum. He participated in 2019’s Glasstress show with Ai Wei Wei and Vic Muniz during the Venice Biennale. Tate has received numerous awards and honors including the 2010 Virginia Groot Foundation award for sculpture; a Fulbright Award from Sunderland University, England, in 2012; second

Michael Dupille: Creating an Art Form An early pioneer of the fusing movement in the Northwest, Michael Dupille is accustomed to developing the processes and products necessary to achieve his aesthetic goals in glass. As the creator and early master of Fritography, the artist’s work can be found in numerous public and private collections including those of the Washington and Oregon State Arts Commissions, The Everett Cultural Commission, The Seattle Times, The Pierce County Arts Commission, Amazon.com, and the Seattle Mariners.  He says: “At first, I was the only person doing frit work. Now there are many people teaching the techniques. Working with frit and fusing in general gives you freedom of expression. Learning how the colors work, how they fire, and what you can do with the different sizes of frit provides a conduit for your imagination.” Some of the most unique developments in Dupille’s work have been the result of experimentation or aesthetic accident. He has the mindset of a perpetual student, alway

The Corning Museum of Glass Acquires its First Glass Cannabis Pipe, Created by David Colton   The Corning Museum of Glass named David Colton as the recipient of its prestigious 2019 Rakow Commission, awarded annually to emerging and established artists whose work is not yet represented in the Museum’s collection. Colton’s sculpture represents the first-ever glass cannabis pipe to be added to the permanent collection of any major art museum. With its bright pink, red, and purple calligraphic forms, this expressive, graffiti-inspired sculptural object demonstrates the contribution of pipemakers to colored borosilicate glass, the palette of which has expanded greatly since the beginning of the glass pipe movement in the late 20th century. Heavily influenced by the rise of graffiti in America in the 1980s and ’90s, Colton creates his own take on the graphic art form in sculpture, using glass as his chosen medium. Recognized by his peers for the distinct organic style he has developed, Colton’s practice encompasse

On November 12, 2019, Venice and Murano, Italy, were devastated by “acqua alta,” record high water from tidal floods, which caused severe damage throughout the laguna and islands. Master glassblower Davide Fuin has established a GoFundMe campaign to help glass artists who need outside funding to make repairs and get shops, furnaces and studios back in working order.    Born in 1962 on Murano, Fuin still lives and works on the island. Considered one of the most skilled glassblowers of the last 30 years, he has collaborated with Italy’s famous glass houses including Venini, Toso, Pauly, Salviati, Elite, and De Majo, as well as with many international artists and designers. His work can be found in major galleries as well as private and museum collections in Europe, the United States, Japan, Korea, Saudi Arabia, EAU, and Australia.   On September 15, 2015, at Palazzo Franchetti on Venice’s Grand Canal, the Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere ed Arti honored glass master Fuin for excelling in his ability to make b

Glass Vegas 2020: Come Experience the Love   Well-known and respected as an organized, professionally run trade show, Glass Vegas promotes functional glass artists and brings together buyers and sellers of everything from simple dry pipes to rigs and bubblers to headies created by the nation’s finest artists. The success of Glass Vegas can be attributed to a lot of hard work by the Glass Vegas trade show team, including mother-daughter duo LeeAnne and Amy Short, who made the love and bonds formed in this community an important part of doing business.     The 2020 Glass Vegas Expo will be held January 28 through 30 at Bally’s Hotel and Casino, in Las Vegas, with over 300 vendor booths representing between 500 to 600 independent glass artists as well as leading wholesale vendors. The show provides attending retailers with the opportunity to buy quality glass and also to experience live music and painting, live flameworking demos by an all-star roster, the Millie Meet Up, the Boro Derby, and the World Series of

David Patchen: Satisfying the Artist and Craftsman Within Like a beautiful sea creature, David Patchen’s sculpture makes one marvel at how such detail, color, and complexity could be possible within its graceful form. Influenced by textiles, ethnically distinct colors and shapes, and the marine environment, the artist creates multi-layered cane and murrine, then contrasts complimentary tertiary tones in complex woven patterns. The resulting work reflects the artist’s desire to explore a variety of ideas simultaneously and challenges the role of glass in the art world at large. Patchen says: “I find glass as seductive as it is challenging. As a particularly unforgiving medium, an artist has endless creative opportunities to design for its unique properties — the only limitations are their imagination and skill in working with the material. I’ve always been captivated by how one can use this enigmatic material to achieve virtually any form, hold elements in suspension, and achieve great detail or soft abstracti

10 Moments … And Other Sculptural Works by Andrew Certo   On September 23, 2019, Andrew Certo won the Bern Gallery’s prestigious Pipe Classic. Twelve artists worked for 12 hours, and Certo emerged victorious with his representation of a marble falling into water represented 10 times chronologically. Visually striking, his piece titled 10 Moments includes a sherlock, rig, spoon, and chillum on a sheet glass base.   Certo says: “For me this piece is about a small event creating something big and how quickly things escalate. Thanks to Pipe Classic for putting together a killer event, to GTT for their generosity, and to all of the other competitors for pushing me to work my ass off to try to bring this idea to life. I’m excited to share this sculpture-rich work and the next ideas.”   A thriving pipe maker based out of Denver, Colorado, Certo’s interest in using glass as a medium began in 2007 at the Pittsburgh Glass Center and continued at Tyler School of Art, where he earned his BFA. The artist credits art schoo

Amber Cowan’s Horror Vacui    In Amber Cowan’s cornucopia of magical flameworked objects, each individual ornament in concert with its neighbor creates a sculpture so lavish, so elaborate, it exudes the air of a precious Victorian relic. Her visual feast speaks its truth through an abundance of decoration. The fact that the work is made from repurposed glass is only considered after the viewer recovers from the enchantment of excess.   On November 13, 2014, The Corning Museum of Glass (CMOG) awarded Cowan its 29th Rakow Commission, a program that provides $25,000 to encourage glass artists to explore new work without concern for financial limits. The award is presented to an artist not yet represented in the museum’s collection and selected by the curator of modern glass, at that time Tina Oldknow. Cowan’s Garden of the Forgotten and Extinct is now part of CMOG’s permanent collection.   Said Oldknow: “Amber takes this ubiquitous commercial glass and gives it a new, cool life, transforming it by destroying it

Jeffrey Stenbom: Coping with PTSD, Connecting with Other Veterans through Kilnformed Glass   In the aftermath of 9/11, Jeffrey Stenbom felt compelled to act and joined the U.S. Army. Stationed in Germany, he was deployed to Kosovo and sent to Iraq for the second year of the war. As a cavalry scout, forward reconnaissance or “finding the bad guys” became his daily routine for the next three and a half years during the height of the conflict. There were crises on the home front as well. While serving in Iraq, Stenbom missed both the birth of his first son and the death of his sister and only sibling. A combination of deployment and emotional upheaval triggered post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and Stenbom was discharged from the Army and returned stateside in January 2004. Back home, Stenbom tried to make a new life for himself as he struggled with anger issues caused by his PTSD. By chance, he discovered kilnforming glass in a class offered at Normandale Community College in Bloomington, Minnesota, where

Carmen Lozar: The Art of the Story   Spilling out from their bottles, bowls, cartons and cans, Carmen Lozar’s flameworked characters tell a story about how messy life can be. These small narratives accentuate the movement and flow of glass but also speak volumes about our relationship to the world.    “I have found myself drawn to glass for the innate sense of motion it can bring to a work of art. While the intrinsic motion of most materials becomes paralyzed at the touch of the human hand, glass, as an amorphous solid, never relinquishes its visual motility. I have chosen to pursue a career in glass sculpture not only for my love of the material, but also because there is so much left to be explored within the field of flameworking and the medium itself.”   Art has always played an essential role in Lozar’s life, growing up with a mother who performed puppet shows and a father who created scale ship models and watercolor renditions of the ramshackle barns on the outskirts of town. During undergraduate studie

Alex Bernstein: Time, Creation and Transformation   If we were to examine a cross-section of an ancient iceberg, no doubt the layers and various densities and opacities of color would be beautiful, but they would also signify something greater than ourselves. Such is the case with Alex Gabriel Bernstein’s sculpture. The forms and the techniques he uses to create them, mirror processes in nature such as oxidation, erosion, growth and decay, inspiring in the viewer a profound contemplation of time, creation and transformation.   In his hometown of Asheville, North Carolina, Bernstein purchased what was a dark and dingy pool hall called Sharkey’s and worked with a local architect to design a bright and open space for creativity. As the French Broad River flows by, the artist casts glass in layers of transparent color which intermingle with ambient light to evoke images of flowing water, ice crystals, mountain peaks and jagged canyons – all structures that seem solid and unyielding, but are actually in constant f

Receive This Glass                                                                                   "Receive this glass                                                                                    it holds my memories                                                                                    crafted blossoms                                                                                    suspended                                                                                    in stillness                                                                                    to be pollinated                                                                                    by your sight                                                                                    anticipating                                                                                    your touch through time."