Process and Inspiration

How do these three artists develop unique ways of sculpting with glass?

March / April 2020

By now, you can probably recognize a Dale Chihuly sculpture. His luminous, colorful artworks push the boundaries of what is possible in the world of glass sculpture. But Chihuly is not the only artist working in this medium. The three artists featured here, contemporaries of Chihuly, also work in glass. But each uses a unique process and source of inspiration, with very different results.

By now, you would probably recognize a Dale Chihuly work if you saw one. His artworks are bright, colorful, and unique. But Chihuly is not the only artist using glass as a medium. All three contemporary artists featured here work with glass, but their work is very different from one another.

Back to Nature

Christina Bothwell lived in New York City and Philadelphia when she was young. She eventually moved to rural Pennsylvania so she could be closer to nature, which inspires her work. The artist is interested in the spiritual world, mythology, and dreams, and her sculptures explore these themes. Many of Bothwell’s works are figurative, featuring babies, children, and animals. The artist explains that glass sculptures “can do everything that other sculptural media can; in addition, it offers an inner space and transmits light.”

Bothwell works in a complex process involving cast glass and mixed media. To create her 2013 sculpture Whenever I Look, I See You, above, the artist began by melting glass at 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit. Then she poured it inside a mold shaped like a little girl holding a bird. Separately, Bothwell sculpted the figure’s head with clay. Once the glass cooled and she fired the clay, Bothwell assembled the work. How does the artist explore form using a different process than Chihuly?

When she was young, Christina Bothwell lived in New York City and Philadelphia. But she eventually moved to the Pennsylvania countryside. She wanted to be closer to nature, which inspires her work. Bothwell is also interested in myths and dreams. Her sculptures explore these themes.

Bothwell’s working process is complex. To create her 2013 sculpture Whenever I Look, I See You, above, Bothwell melted glass at 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit. Then she poured it into a mold shaped like a little girl holding a bird. This step is called glass casting. The artist sculpted the figure’s head out of clay. She let the glass cool and she fired the clay. Then she put both forms together. How is her process different from Chihuly’s?

Multiple Traditions

“My work with glass transforms the notion that Native artists are only best when traditional materials are used,” says Preston Singletary. He is a Tlingit (TLING-guht) artist who lives in the Pacific Northwest, where there is a long tradition of woodcarving. Singletary began his glassblowing practice by learning European methods, but he felt connected with the medium only when he began making artworks inspired by his Tlingit cultural heritage. Singletary also sandcarves some of his glass sculptures. This means he uses a high-pressure machine to blast away some areas on the glass surface, creating a design. His 2016 sculpture The Sun Danced in the Sky, above, incorporates European methods of glassblowing and sandcarving in a style that is unique to the Pacific Northwest.

Preston Singletary is a Tlingit (TLING-guht) artist. Tlingit people are Native American and from the Pacific Northwest, where there is a tradition of woodcarving. Singletary didn’t want to stick to this medium. But he knew he wanted to make artwork inspired by his culture.

He used European glassblowing methods and sandcarving to make his 2016 work The Sun Danced in the Sky, above. Instead of carving wood, sandcarving involves using a high-pressure machine to blast away the surface of glass to create a design. Singletary uses both European techniques and sandcarving to create a unique glass sculpture.

Second Life

Philadelphia artist Amber Cowan finds inspiration in glassware made during the middle of the 20th century. She scours the internet and antique shops for examples of old pressed glass. Pressed glass is a common type of mass-produced glass. Cowan then reshapes the items she finds using a flameworking torch. Cowan explains that she works with glass that was “abandoned to the dustbins of American design.” With her unique vision and process, she gives these discarded found objects a second life.

For her 2019 Dance of the Pacific Coast Highway at Sunset, above, Cowan develops a monochromatic (all one color) composition featuring many small flowers, leaves, and other tiny objects. She arranges the objects so that they create a frame. Within the frame, small ballerinas and animals perform on a miniature stage in the center. Although the work hangs on a wall like a two-dimensional painting, Cowan explores three-dimensional form through her use of depth, found objects, and composition.

Amber Cowan is an artist in Philadelphia. She is inspired by glassware made during the middle of the 20th century. She looks on the internet and in shops for found objects made of old pressed glass. Pressed glass is a common type of glass that is made in molds. Cowan gives the objects she collects a second life in her artwork.

Her 2019 Dance of the Pacific Coast Highway at Sunset is shown above. Almost the whole work is monochromatic, or one color. It features many small flowers, leaves, and other tiny objects. Cowan arranges the objects so that they create a frame around small ballerinas and animals on a stage.

The work hangs on a wall like a flat painting. But Cowan uses her found objects to give the work a three-dimensional form.