Pittsburgh Glass Center Exhibit :: Lifeforms

I live in Pittsburgh, PA and we have a really awesome glass center.  Currently, the PGC is running an exhibit called Lifeforms.  This is a travelling exhibit that will eventually end at the Glass Art Society Conference in Corning NY in June 2016.  Heather McElwee, Executive Director of the PGC, is a juror on the show.

Lifeforms (show link) is an exhibit of glass models that were made in the spirit of father and son team, Rudolf and Leopold Blaschka (read the wiki about these two, very interesting) who are famous for their 19th and 20th century models of invertebrates and plants. If you go to the show link, you will be able to see all entries. The show includes botany models, zoology models, and scaled models of microorganisms.

The show was juried by 5 well known artists in the glass field, and 50 artists were chosen to exhibit.  I happily took in the show last week and took some photos so that you could all see the awesomeness that is a glass exhibit! I did not take photos of every item, and can't share them all with you here because it would be a massive post.  I will share some, and list the artist, title and skills used, and let you know which are my faves! All photos are mine.

 Victor Trabucco, Hawthorne Berries, lampwork, fused, laminated

 Paul Stankard, Meditation - Healing Virtues of the Plant Kingdom, Apis, flameworked

 Karen Willenbrink-Johnsen, India Blue Peacock, blown, sculpted, powder images

 Elizabeth Johnson, Ranier Cherries, lampworked, copper wire, ceramic

 Lisa Demagall, Radiolaria, flameworked

 Shane Fero, Winter White Redpolls, flameworked, etched, found objects

 Sara Sally LaGrand, Culling, flameworked

 Mark Clarson, Untitled, cast glass, silver leaf

 Mauro Vianello, Snailes, flameworked, wood

 Brandon Martin, Axolotl, lampworked, river rock, resin, wood, copper

ONE OF MY FAVES!

Bronwen Heilman, The Lovely, flameworked

 Michael Mangiafico and Ed Pinto, Tears of the Sun God, flameworked, kilnformed, wood

There is so much detail in this piece, it's unreal!

Jupiter Nielsen and Nathan Belmont, I'iwi in Haleakala Sandalwood, flameworked 

 Jeremy Sinkus, The Future is Coming, blown, sculpted

Another favorite, filled with detail

 Beau Tsai, Panther Chameleon, flameworked

 Kelly O'Dell, Hope, blown, sculpted

 Raven Skyriver, Bask, solid sculpted

Sam McMillen, Cupped Up, solid sculpted

And finally, my personal favorite of the whole show.  So much so that I was tempted to purchase it.  

 Erin and Grant Garmezy, Desert Blossom, sculpted and electroplated

If you have the time and are within driving distance, or even not, it's a great show to take in.  It's not very big, you could also tour the glass center or time your visit to also take a class or a make-it, take-it, but it's well worth it to see.  I really enjoyed bringing this exhibit to you and hope you enjoyed seeing it as well!

Susan Kennedy