January/February 2021 **Print**

Flameworked Glass Studio Profile

Mauro Vianello

Extraordinary Sea Life in Flameworked Glass

by Vicki Schneider

Photography by Marco Santin and Mauro Vianello

Mauro Vianello is an accomplished and highly admired Venetian flameworker whose depictions of sea life are valued and collected by glass enthusiasts from all over the world. By developing and layering his own custom mixtures of frits, he masterfully transforms classic Effetre colors into intricate reflections of nature.

International Glass

Toshiki Uchida

Murrine Bead Master

by Sara Sally LaGrand

The intriguing bead work of Japanese glass artist Toshiki Uchida is composed of layers of murrine so skillfully crafted that they create tiers of glass revealing a world captured inside. The artist’s work invites viewers to examine the beads at close range to find the intricate details caught up in his miniature masterpieces.

Personal Development

Creativity

Form Will Ever Follow Function

by Milon Townsend

Over time, an artist’s work tends to grow and develop from the place where it began in the area of aesthetic considerations. That can make functional issues of producing the artwork become continually more important. Ideally, accommodating these needs will, in turn, lead to more aesthetically and artistically satisfying results.

CGS News

The Contemporary Glass Society to the Rescue!

by Susan Purser Hope

Photos by Shannon Tofts, Ester Segarra Photography, Sylvain Deleu, Colin Davison, Simon Bruntnell, AC Cooper Photography, and Robin Morton

The team at the Contemporary Glass Society sprang into action in March 2020 and put their thinking caps on to develop a plan for supporting glassmakers. This has resulted in a dazzling array of new initiatives to help that include sharing with and supporting members via e-mails, weekly Live Talks with artists, collectors, and gallery owners, and developing regular Facebook profiles of members’ work.

Independent Artist

The Power of the Flame

Transforming the Common into Something Special

by Melissa Ayotte

Photography by John W. Hession, Morgan Karanasios, and Melissa Ayotte

Melissa Ayotte creates her artwork through a transformation that uses fire to change glass from solid to fluid states. This means that as a flameworker, her art exists on the edge of bending and shaping what is a supercooled solid into a malleable liquid. That realization helps the artist arise with a purpose tied to fire that leads to the creation of beautiful, realistic flowers encased in glass.

Philanthropic Glass

Delta Gamma’s Service for Sight

Helping the FBC Support the Visually Impaired

by Alyssa Stoney

Teena Tabor, membership adviser for the Gamma Phi Delta Gamma chapter at Arizona State University, recently spearheaded the glass project for the playground at the Foundation for Blind Children. Members created and installed 558 double-layered glass tiles representing different themes including sea life, birthdays, toys, numbers, letters, and more. Each tile included braille words created with glass dots to represent the images.

Art Glass Studio Profile

Anika van der Merwe

South African Style

by Amy Moritz

Photos by Judite Howell, Silver Dune Photography and Anika van der Merwe

Anika van der Merwe is at the top of the community of stained glass artists and glass painters in South Africa. Working on both new panels and restorations, the artist often takes on the challenge of creating stained glass domes. Along with inspiring interest in stained glass in South Africa, Anika is motivated by the work of other artists who are expanding the possibilities of the art form.

Skills and Techniques

A Look at Multilevel Firings for Glass Art

by Dennis Brady

Dennis Brady provides information on the various principles behind why using different levels inside a kiln to fire multiple items is often an unsuccessful practice. Various areas are discussed including heat distribution and heat retention. Firing work in multiple layers can be successful if the kiln can be held to a full fuse long enough to be sure that everything is fully fused.

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