Raymond Rains

I have long been fascinated with glass and after attending a weekend workshop in 1999 I made a commitment to explore and develop my own style of making glass art. Working alone without studio assistants forces me to constantly think about new ways to accomplish my objectives. Glass is a beguiling and unforgiving medium presenting countless challenges and I am continually surprised at the direction it leads me. Learning how the combinations of color, light, and form develop is a captivating journey. My work includes mouth blown vessels using an extensive pallet of colors and mixed media work incorporating various forms of glass and other materials. Each mouth blown glass art piece starts with colored glass on the blowpipe that is then immersed in clear, molten glass and formed into the desired shape using wooden blocks or paddles while blowing into the blowpipe. Colored glass stringers or thin sheets of dichroic glass with metallic oxides such as titanium, silicon, or magnesium are often applied to the surface of the glass using a high temperature torch before adding additional layers of clear glass. My mixed media work often incorporates pure copper captured between layers of glass formed into bowl shapes or standing pieces of sculpture, using hand forged steel, copper, brass, aluminum, and Texas fossil stone.While the process of creating art is rewarding in itself, I am additionally gratified by the fact that people buy my work, and am humbled when I see my work in other peopleŠ—Ès homes or collections.I am one of the few glass artists who work alone without studio assistants, forcing me to constantly think about new ways to accomplish my objectives with the beguiling and unforgiving medium of glass. My work is a combination of color, light and form.