Features News
The art of glass
Dahl exhibit featured in new Education Complex
del.icio.us
Digg
NewsVine
FarkFour glass artists with years of experience bring a new perspective to an old art form in “Glassified,” now on display at the Dahl Art Center’s Education Complex.
“We always ask artists to push the edges and explore some new things,” curator Mary Maxon said. “We’re pleased with how it all turned out. It’s so nice to see artists stretch themselves.”
Two of the artists, Pete Hopkins and Gail Damin, have worked together for 16 years at their studio, Black Hills Glassblowing in Keystone, which is open to the public.
“We try to blow glass every day, May through September,” Hopkins said.
Typically, their pieces are functional ” vases, bowls and plates.
“Sometimes I get so busy doing that kind of work that I don’t spend time thinking of anything extremely artistic,” said Damin.
For this show, they both wanted to do something different.
Hopkins’ “Snakes” features a twisting mass of curling glass, made with leftover bits and pieces of colored borosilicate that have been heated, pushed and pulled.
His “Horned Series” of blown glass and bronze was a “series born out of frustration,” according to the gallery notes. “After some failed attempts, I wanted to get even with the medium,” he wrote. As he was frantically cutting and pulling the hot glass, the horned pieces evolved. For balance, he added bronze bases. Inverting the pieces turned them into walking vases.
“I just had had a couple of sour days, which anyone can have in glass,” said Hopkins.
Even with that frustration, Hopkins enjoys working in glass.
“I like the medium in that it’s different than say ceramics; it’s fluid, and in order to work with it, it needs to be fluid and moving,” he said. “It’s a four-minute reheat for a 30-second working window opportunity.”
Working with glass as hot as 2,000 plus degrees, there’s not a lot of time to create, and even a bit of breeze can cause the pieces to crack.
Damin brought a bit of whimsy to her “Hot Heads” series. One piece, “All of Us,” features seven small heads stacked in a steel frame. Another, “Glamorous,” is a clear glass head with full red lips ” and is filled with hair.
“We had traveled to Italy, and I had gone through all these museums, and everywhere we went there were these statues of heads. After a while it was kind of fascinating to me,” Damin said.
An orange glass head, looking windblown with coiled wire and pieces of circuit board flying out the back, is aptly named “Calamitous.”
“I just wanted to make it look like it was blowing up, like your head was exploding,” she said. “A lot of us have days like that. I thought a lot of people could relate to that.” And the circuit board pieces? “I also have issues with computers.”
Loy Allen, who has been working as a glass artist since 1979, chose to combine her traditional flamed-worked pieces with two-dimensional stained glass, mosaic and found objects in box construction.
Her “La Promesa,” for example, features an antique medicine cabinet, mosaic pattern inspired by Mexican weaving, images of the Virgin of Guadalupe, corn and prickly pear.
“Tomato Altar” by Allen showcases a delicate glass tomato plant with blossoms and fruit inside a stained glass cabinet.
Chris Johnson, an artist and musician who has been working in glass since 1971, is known for his glass bowls. One of them on exhibit, “Bison Eruption,” features a bowl with bison images and a glass bubble encasing a Mr. Bill figurine.
The “Glassified” exhibit also gives visitors the chance to learn techniques of working with glass, including flame working, glass blowing, slumping and mosaic.
The exhibit also offers a chance to take a look at the Dahl’s new Education Complex, located in the old Montana-Dakota Utilities building. With plenty of windows, the space is contemporary and clean. The main room will serve as a temporary gallery space until the Dahl construction is complete.
The complex also features classrooms for the Dahl’s art classes.
If you go
What: “Glassified,” an exhibit by glass artists Loy Allen, Gail Damin, Pete Hopkins and Chris Johnson
Where: Dahl Education Complex, 703 Kansas City St.
When: Gallery hours are 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 5 p.m. Saturday. The exhibit will be on display through Jan. 12.
December at the Dahl
n Shake It Up Baby ” 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., Monday, Dec. 17, for ages 3-5 (or mature 2-year-olds), with a parent or other relative, featuring twisting and shouting to some Christmas tunes while creating a shakeable snow globe winter wonderland. Cost is $12-$15.
n Holiday Art camp ” 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 22, featuring a full day of exploring culture, crafts and history for children ages 5-12. Cost is $26-$32; bring a sack lunch.
n Music & Make Believe ” 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Dec. 27 and 28, a two-day camp of silly songs and puppet play for children ages 5-12. Cost is $50-$60. Parents and friends are invited to the puppet production at 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 27.
All classes are held at the Dahl’s Education Complex, 703 Kansas City St. Call 394-4101 to register or for more information.
Contact Deanna Darr at 394-8416 or deanna.darr@rapidcityjournal.com
The opinions above are from readers of rapidcityjournal.com and in no way represent the views of the Rapid City Journal or Lee Enterprises.
Rapidcityjournal.com provides this community forum for readers to exchange ideas and opinions on the news of the day. Passionate views, pointed criticism and critical thinking are welcome. Name-calling, crude language and personal abuse are not welcome. Moderators will monitor comments with an eye toward maintaining a high level of civility in this forum. Our comment policy explains the rules of the road for registered commenters.
If you don't see your comment, perhaps...
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy