Talking Out Your Glass Podcast

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."                                                                                                            

Mutant: Narcissus Quagliata’s New Book of Poetry and Sketches   “Divested of the illusion that art matters, divested of the illusion that it is meaningful and worthwhile to have a successful life as an artist, the irrational love for the creative process itself is all that I have left. It all boils down to my addiction to entering over and over in the magical moment and mysterious space when an idea forms inside of you and becomes itself by traveling from the dark cave of my soul to the outside reality, be it a huge glass dome or a small watercolor.” Narcissus Quagliata,     October 2019 marks the release of Narcissus Quagliata’s fourth book, Mutant, a collection of poetry and sketches created from 1968 to 2018 and inspired by the life and times of this internationally acclaimed artist. The book intimately explores the relationship between dreams, words and images on 216 pages with 13 full-color photographs of Quagliata's glass and watercolor work.   Born and raised in Rome, Quagliata later lived in San Franc

“An authentic art survives stylistic evolutions over time to become a benchmark of art history. In this regard, I believe historians will judge Scott Parsons’ work as being authentic, original, and (most importantly) a contribution to the historical trajectory of stained glass in architecture.” Kenneth von Roenn  Scott Parsons: Sacramental Imagination Applying his graphic arts talent to the world of stained glass, Scott Parsons designed 26 stained glass windows created in three series for Our Lady of Loreto Parish in Foxfield, Colorado. Fabricated by Derix Glasstudio, Taunusstein, Gemany, these windows redefined the roles of both the artisans making the work as well as the new technologies and materials used in their creation. Through imagery not from stained glass tradition but rather a contemporary sensitivity and visual language common to our time, Parsons expresses what he calls sacramental imagination - a dimension beyond our perceived reality.  “I am inspired by the idea of place, of defining a space w

At first glance, the work of Evelyn Gottschall Baker could have been unearthed in an archeological dig outside of Buena Vista, Colorado, where the artist lives and works from her studio, Glass Fractions. But a closer look will reveal these perfectly colored and shaped skeletal remains are actually pâte de verreglass castings. Using her unique mold-free process, Gottschall Baker is putting her work on the map at events such as Bullseye Glass Co.’s 2018 Emerge/Evolve competition and exhibition.   On view now at the Belleview Art Museum, Belleview, Washington, Gottschall Baker’s series of animal bone replicas garnered her an Honorable Mention in Emerge/ Evolve 2018. The artist spent over a year developing her own technique for sculpting glass paste into forms that can be fired without a mold. Her experience and discipline as a test engineer proved invaluable in the methodical, detailed testing required to create the complex firing schedules for this kilnworking method, which must account for shrinkage, varying t

Eusheen Goines: The Fillacello King   Born in a small village known as Takima, Oregon, Eusheen Goines comes from a family of artists and musicians. At a young age, he learned to live off of creating art and travelling like a nomad. By the age of 18, this lifestyle took the artist on solo journey working for Renaissance Fairs throughout the country.   In 2000 Goines discovered flameworking glass while working at a smoke shop and began spending the majority of his free time behind the torch. For years, he worked with the some of the best artists in functional glass including Mike Luna and Darby Holm. Now residing in Evergreen, Colorado, Goines is a part of the Everdream Studio.   With a free-flowing style Goines creates functional art pieces that can be instantly recognized as his by their intricate, controlled detail and color. His aesthetic signature, the fillacello, is created much the same as reticello but is painstakingly laid out on tubing then filled with color before it is condensed. One would be hard p

Geometry and the projection of light have always been key components of Debora Coombs’ artwork. In 2013 she began exploring mathematical projections as a way to understand shifts between dimensions of space. Working from Penrose tiling (a two-dimensional shadowof a five-dimensional lattice), 3D sculptures in glass and paper were built using her classic design skills to explore various aspects of mathematics. A number of high-profile residencies have allowed Coombs to explore these new concepts. In the spring of 2016, she did a month-long collaborative residency with computer scientist Duane Bailey, and in October, a 2-week residency at Assets for Artists: The Studiosat MASS MoCAat the Massachusetts Museum for Contemporary Art, North Adams, Massachusetts. In 2017, a 3-week residency at Carroll College, Helena, Montana, allowed the artist to focus on the theological symbolism of geometry, which resulted in a commission for 85 square feet of hand painted geometric stained glass windows for All Saints, the new ch

  Jane Bruce is an independent artist and educator based in New York City. She teaches and exhibits internationally and her dual careers of artist and maker have taken her around the world, from Europe to the USA, to Australia and back again. Bruce works in a range of techniques to create objects and mini installations, primarily through the processes of kiln forming, blowing and coldworking glass.   Born in England, Bruce received a Master of Arts from the Royal College of Art, London, and undertook further postgraduate study at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred. She has been the recipient of a range of fellowships, visiting artist awards and grants, including fellowships from the Creative Glass Center of America and the New York Foundation for the Arts; artist-in-residence at The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass, visiting artist at Museum of Glass, Tacoma, and a New Work Grant from the Australia Council. Exhibiting internationally, her work can be found in many major museum collections w

Whether a chameleon, a crested kingfisher or a Cristo Rhinoceros hornbill, Devin Somerville’s high-end art pipes begin with custom millies that are stacked and assembled into mind-blowing and unforgettable creatures. Also known as Crunklestein, the artist’s take on the ancient Italian technique of millefiore has become his aesthetic signature. Once a process amongst many used by Crunklestein, when friends, fans, and fellow artists came face to face with his colorful, ornate millie pipes, the artist was encouraged to make all of his work using the chip stack technique he developed.   Somerville,aka Cap’n Crunk Glass, resides in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and produces a variety of dab rig styles, specializing in the mini or tiny tube design. His small dab rigs usually include mini encased millies throughout the neck and body of the piece, while his full sized incredibly detailed and realistic sculpted oil rigs showcase his unlimited range of talent and creativity.  Blowing glass since before the year 2000, Crunklest

The Permission of the Mind Howard Ben Tré Using methods learned in his metal-foundry class at Brooklyn Technical High School, Howard Ben Tré pioneered the art of casting molten glass long before YouTube tutorials and Facebook casting groups existed. His hands-on technical innovations changed what was possible in cast glass and allowed Ben Tré to create career defining monumental sculptures that could survive the rigors of outdoor installation. Among Ben Tré’s public commissions are the award-winning installation of fountains and seating created for Post Office Square Park in Boston; the plaza and sculpture for BankBoston’s headquarters in downtown Providence; an interactive fountain for the hall of the renovated Mary Baker Eddy Library in Boston; the pedestrianization and street scheme redesign of Warrington Town Center in England; and plazas with sculpture/fountains and landscaping for Target Corporation Headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Whether casting glass for public spaces or personal series, Ben T

Viewing the hot sculpted work of Prague’s Martin Janecký inspires a sensation akin to gazing upon precious and antique art treasures from around the globe. His glass busts in white or black glass remind us that the human form speaks volumes about beauty, history, hope and art in a way that no other object could. Born in the Czech Republic in 1980, Janecký began working with glass at the age of 13 at his father’s factory. His secondary school training at Novy Bor concentrated on the creation of glass art and introduced him to artists and designers from around the world that hired him to execute their ideas. In 2003, the young artist made his first trip to the United States where he studied at the Pilchuck Glass School under Richard Royal and William Morris. Among Janecký’s most recognized strengths was his mastering of blowing and sculpting “inside the bubble,” the technique used in the creation of his startling original works. Before long, Janecký became a highly sought teacher in his field. He has taught, de

The Corning Museum of Glass is a proud collaborator on an exciting, new competition series, Blown Away—created by producers marblemediaand a co-production of Netflix andBlue Ant Media of Toronto. The 10-episode show, which will bring the art of glassblowing to a global audience through the Netflix streaming platform, will launch on July 12, 2019. 

   The show follows a group of 10 highly skilled glassmakers from North America who have a limited time to fabricate beautiful works of art that are assessed by a panel of expert judges. One artist is eliminated in each 30-minute episode until a winner is announced in the 10th and final episode. YouTube star Nick Uhas, best known for his popular science show Nickipedia, hosts Blown Awayand renowned artist Katherine Gray serves as the “resident evaluator.”   The series was filmed in the largest glassblowing studio ever built in North America, designed specifically for the scope and scale of the competition. The space allows 10 artists to work simultaneously, using t

The functional glass community is defined, in part, by the technical mastery and mind-blowing aesthetic of high-end art pipes. But in equal measure, philanthropy defines this growing segment of the glass art community. One key player in organizing charitable events within the pipe community is Allison Key, founder and director of the well-known Michigan Glass Project (MGP), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.  The 2019 MGP will be held July 19 - 21 at the Russell Industrial Center, Detroit, Michigan. MGP’s mission is to unite artists through charitable events that create and foster positive change in the community.Artwork created on site at the yearly happening is sold, auctioned, or raffled to raise money for a philanthropic cause. A large silent auction is held during MGP with artwork continually being added throughout the weekend. Profits generated above expenses to hold the event are donated to the yearly charity. Since its inception in 2012, MGP has donated $36,000 to The Belle Isle Aquarium in Detroit,

Tim Carey’s mission is to bring glass to the forefront as an image-making medium through continued exploration of techniques that he and Narcissus Quagliata developed at Judson Studios. Tim Carey Studio, established in Compton, California, on July 1, 2018, is moving to south Pasadena, where the artist will continue creating projects and commissions in his hybrid fusing and glass painting process.   Judson Studios’ Resurrection Window, the largest single composition fused glass window in the world, was dedicated on Easter Sunday, April 16, 2017. Created for the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, the groundbreaking work measures a mammoth 37 feet tall by 94 feet wide. As Judson Studios’ designer at that time, Carey worked in concert with Quagliata to create the first-ever notable liturgical window created entirely from fused glass.   Carey States: “After designing the Resurrection window in 2014 and realizing it couldn’t be done solely with traditional methods, I sought out glass

Raised in Milford, Ohio, Karen Willenbrink-Johnsen and her naturalist father spent many a day on forays through the woods. As a landscaper, the elder Willenbrink taught his daughter about trees, birds, fossils, and native peoples. She says:  “I’m constantly inspired, revitalized and awed by the power of nature.” A self-described all-American girl, the artist grew up with her twin sister, older brother, younger brother, and parents who loved to camp and hike. In their childhood home, nature and happiness was celebrated, resulting in Willenbrink-Johnsen’s palpable passion for life.                      Soon after receiving a BFA in sculpture from Ohio University, glass became a driving force in Willenbrink-Johnsen’s life. The artist spent several years honing her skills in the Catskill Mountains region of New York. She subsequently embarked on a 16-year stint working with glass artist William Morris, who taught Willenbrink-Johnsen to follow her vision and let the enthusiasm of her spirit guide her ideas.   Like

Chris Ahalt sculpts in meticulous detail and bright colors his animal balloon series, depicting visually strong animals made fragile by delicately balancing them above on a wire.  Hours of intensive work result in deceptively simple animal balloons featuring hollow glass sculptures of African and Asian elephants, black and white rhinos, giraffes, hippos, sharks, and whales, to name a few.  Ahalt’s sandblasted glass is strung up on copper wire embellished with hand-forged ridges that emulate real ribbon and tethered to small weights.  The flexibility of the wire enhances the illusion as the glass balloon sways back and forth. Says Ahalt: “Balloons suggest celebration, children, and wonder. The iconic animals that I pick appeal to those child-like sensibilities. Most of us grow up with a favorite animal, and the idea of turning one’s favorite animal into a balloon seems a fitting marriage that is hard to dislike. These animal balloons also metaphorically speak to their fragile lives, many of them endangered. So