Thomas Spake

I find inspiration in the subtle yet mysterious beauty of our natural world. This beauty can be found in so many different places upon our planet, from the sandy ocean floor, to mountainous peaks and from the arid deserts to the lush jungles. I find glass to be a very impressionable material, so it can be transparent, translucent or opaque, giving it the capacity to mimic the world around us; water, clouds, rock, forests, mountains…… I have learned to approach the material from the perspective of a painter and a sculptor. The fluid nature of glass lends itself to be stretched and drawn across the surface to create a kind of brush stroke, like that of a painter. The ability to grind, engrave, and etch the surface of the glass, lends the material to be sculpted, creating layers of colors, revealing unseen patterns, and creating marks that allow light to dance across the surface of the glass. My current work is an exploration of texture and pattern. I begin by gathering molten glass on a blowpipe, and then fusing glass powders, frits, murrini, and stringers, to the glass surface. By using unconventional techniques along with the inherent chemistry of the metal oxides that formulate the colored glass, I am able to create very complex patterns that imitate natural objects or landscapes. My simple forms and shapes are intended to act as a canvas for the glasscapes to inhabit. However, the blowing process is only half of the journey. After being blown in the hotshop, the pieces are taken to the coldshop. In the coldshop the pieces are engraved, carved, or sandblasted to remove layers of color on surface and reveal the interior colors. In the final stage of creation, the piece is acid etched to give the surface a soft matte finish. My unique approach gives the work a tactile quality that offers the audience a treat for the eyes as well as the fingers, and with the blown vessels surface exposed, the soft glow of light is transmitted through the vessel, revealing the true nature of the material. https://youtu.be/rhAD0e69nno