Glass Fire
Page 2
ART EDITOR
Robert Treaster
Olaf Palm
James Maxwell
Rachel Lahn
Susan Moore
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Glass Fire page two
Jellies by Buster and Trish Dyer
- About this image from top left to bottom right -
Sari-blue, Violet-smooth, Arora,
Violet-smooth, Ruby-red tenicles, Moonjelly-incan
Other artists represented in Glass Fire Gallery
Blaker DeSomma Glass Studio
Marsha Blaker-DeSomma received her Masters Degree in both ceramics and glass and has attended the world renowned, Pilchuck Glass School as a scholarship student and as a staff member. Marsha is well know and respected on a National level along with a devoted following in her local Santa Cruz, California community. She has mastered a multitude of techniques in both ceramics and glass. Although the mediums differ widely, her love of nature, texture and attention to detail run throughout her work. She has had major gallery and museum exhibitions across the United Sates and in Europe. Her work is included in numerous public and private collections and has received many awards.
Paul DeSomma is a glass artist who specializes in figurative work. Paul first blew glass in New York City in 1983, and spent the next 15 years working and studying in studios in Seattle, Washington and Murano, Italy. He has close professional ties with artist Dale Chihuly with whom he often collaborates. His close friendship with Masestro Pino Signoretto has guided Paul's technical approach and influenced his sculptural aesthetic.
The Blaker DeSomma Glass Studio opened its doors in January 2000. Marsha and Paul work both independently and collaboratively on various lines of sculptural glass work. |
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Carl Radke was one of a vanguard of young artists who participated in the Renaissance of American Art Glass in the early 1970’s. Originated by Tiffany in 1881, and popular during the early part of the nineteenth century, Lustre Art Glass had fallen out of favor after 1925 and had practically become a lost art.Lustre Glass is a very specialized glassblowing medium. Because of the silver content in the glass, it has always been one of the most costly forms of glass ever produced. In addition to the high cost of the raw materials used in Lustre Glass, other factors prevent this volatile studio glass from being mass-produced in a large factory environment.The raw glass can only be maintained in the oven for a short period of time before the color, quality and texture of the glass batch begins to degenerate. Not only the specific formulas and high raw material costs, but the experience and technique of maintaining this volatile form of glass in a usable state, has kept the blowing of Silver Lustre Art Glass in the hands of a few skillful artisans.The glassblower must be chemist as well as craftsman to work successfully in this medium. Carl Radke is one of only a few glassblowers out of thousands in the U.S. who continues to work in this difficult and traditional glass. His skill with glass and glass decoration has allowed him to “play” with the medium and to develop this unique collection. |
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Ferdinand Thieriot has been working with glass since 1984. After first making stained glass windows in the mid 1980’s Ferdinand tried blowing glass and was immediately captivated by the challenges and sensual nature of molten glass. Since 1988, his career choices have led him all over the east coast, Canada and Europe; studying, teaching, assisting and collaborating with some of the most talented (glass) artists alive today, including Loredano & Dino Rosin, Pino Signoretto and Bertil Vallien.Ferdinand apprenticed at Studio Rosin in Murano, Italy in 1994–1995. He has taught at the Pilchuck Glass School as well as many other summer glass programs including Espacce Verre, Red Deer College, and Alfred University where he received his MFA in 1998. |
| After years of traveling and creating in many different environments, Ferdinand decided, in 2000, to settle down in Mendocino County, and build his own glass/art studio at home. He still exhibits work throughout the country and in 2003, designed and installed a permanent art glass wall at a global oil company’s world head-quarters in San Ramon, CA.Ferdinand’s many artistic pursuits include: glass-blowing and solid glass sculpting; mixed-media sculpture; photography; teaching and learning making work for artists who do not use glass as a primary media and private/corporate commissions.
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| Laura Spradlin has focused on art since childhood and has made jewelry for over twenty years.
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Completely self-taught, she began working with the torch, experimenting with different forms of glass, when it became obvious that she had found her niche. Laura’s inspiration comes from the ethereal natural beauty surrounding her home; coastal cliffs, churning ocean, majestic redwoods, tiny flowers, frogs, and even her mother's carefully tended rose garden. These images have all found their way into her sometimes whimsical but always stunning beadwork and jewelry. Laura also provides fellow artists with unusual and quality beads to work into their own creations of jewelry or mixed-media. Each bead is uniquely made from the heart then carefully kiln-annealed to insure strength and durability.A member of the International Society Of Glass Bead Makers, Laura says: "family, work, daily observation of the natural environment, imagination, and life experiences are in every bead I create. I look forward to sharing my creations with you.” |
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A native Californian, Cynthia Van Kleeck has always been an artist. “Nature has always been an inspiration for my art. I work mostly outdoors or with the subject directly in front of me. I photograph, draw or paint how I feel about what I see and my reaction to it.”Cynthia received her bachelor’s degree and teaching credential in Art at the University of California, Berkeley. She attended summer sessions at the Academy of Art in San Francisco, as well as various classes from Lake Tahoe Community College. She has had numerous showings in the Bay Area, Lake Tahoe, Mendocino, Sacramento, and Auburn.Van Kleeck has enjoyed teaching art and other subjects throughout California. “I love to share the world of Art through teaching, both in the schools and privately. Teaching helps my art because I am always seeing things in a new way through my student’s eyes.”I will always have my art, I will never let that go!” |
For more information, contact GLASS FIRE by E-MAIL
The Glass Fire Gallery is located on Highway One in Fort Bragg, next to the Botanical Gardens. The gallery opened in 2005, with a glass blowing studio on site for the public to observe Buster in action.
If you plan to join our company of Mendocino Stories' artists, please see our submission guidelines. HERE
Type GLASS FIRE into subject line.
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Drop GLASS FIRE an e-mail note,
We all like compliments.
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