Sometimes you have to be in just the right frame of mind to fully appreciate an artist’s work. That was the case for me this morning as I glanced through flameworker Carmen Lozar’s portfolio of work.  Lozar celebrates the small moments of every day life with glass vignettes that are executed with a precision that allows her innate talent to emerge.

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Menagerie, flameworked glass, mixed media. Largest animal 3.25”H x 5.25”W x 5”D

Her collection includes sculptures that honor sweet moments such as savoring the last summer tomato or relaxing in the luxury of a simple bath, but it was studying the pieces in her collection that address the darker moments in our lives that brought me to tears.

Mend, flameworked glass, mixed media 9” h x 4” w x 4” d

Lozar has created a menagerie of imperfectly mended wounded animals that speaks to our human inability to fix things completely – things that we try to make better in irrational ways even though we know they can’t be fixed. The collection of diminutive sculptures (the largest is only 3.25″  tall) includes an elephant with a rubber hose trunk, a stork with a peg-leg, a rabbit with a wooden ear and other beloved animals with missing parts and pieces that can never truly be restored.

Dance Til Dawn, flameworked glass, mixed media, 13″h x 6″w x 6″d

Armed with a Master of Fine Arts degree from Alfred University and a continued exploration of art in China, Indonesia, Thailand and India, Lozar fearlessly mixes media and adds mechanical mechanisms to many of her pieces.  Animating the sculptures with automata adds an element of surprise and delight to the work. When you turn the crank on Pollination, shown below, a bee buzzes up and down the blanket that covers the loving couple.  Sweet.

Pollination, slumped and flameworked glass, 7″H x 10″W x 6″D

Carmen Lozar is only in her early thirties, yet she is able to remind us of our human vulnerability, speaking a language we can all relate to with a grace, humor and level of skill that is usually achieved only through living and working several decades. In this podcast the artist shares her thoughts and talks about her process and this 2008 article reveals even more.

Thanks to Paul Stankard for sharing this artist’s work with us and brightening a dark, rainy day.
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