Joseph Becker

Hand blown glass is my current medium of choice due to it’s fluidity and optical characteristics. Extensive grinding and polishing techniques remove the functionality from the hand blown vessel creating what I call a “SCULPTURE/VESSEL”.

Aesthetics is a primary concern and I have attempted to achieve beauty in a finished art piece by investigating form, light, line, shadow and content inherent in glass. The openings through the surfaces of the pieces create a repetition of line and a play with positive and negative space. Color is a concern in that it provides an additional emotional response in the viewer, as well as supports the overall strength of the finished piece.

As the Artist I do all the blowing of the free form sculptures, and all of the rough grinding and polishing to create the form that will be the finished sculpture. Horizontal diamond lapidary wheels are used for the actual cutting of the glass. An assistant comes in and helps with the final polish on the shapes I have created. I can actually blow any of the pieces in about an hour or less. The grinding and polishing is the time consuming part of my work and can take up to thirty to forty hours per piece.