Randy Walker shows us what happens when you practice your craftsmanship for years in a supporting role before launching out on your own…and it is magical.

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Walker, who has been an integral part of the William Morris blowing team for almost two decades, also puts his degree in Wildlife Ecology to good use in this body of blown and sculpted glass driftwood, birch, brambles, pods and foliage. Look at the detail shots to truly appreciate the craftsmanship – and don’t the birch vessels seem like grouped figures deep in conversation?

From his website:

“The work is born from a deep seated reverence for the forest’s grandeur and tenacious vitality. Life’s seasons and cycles are played out with timeless patience. It’s one place where the beauty of change, both death and birth, is celebrated equally. To capture the essence of the forest’s weathered branches, intricate bark patterns and autumn leaves, Randy skillfully matches molten glass’s animated movement and endless array of colors with the same essential qualities found in nature.”

“I gather inspiration from molten glass’s animated movement, evocative colors and intricate surfaces equal to the inspiration I harvest from the same essential qualities found in nature.” Randy Walker

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Lisa Zerkowitz splits her time between her studio where she creates cast glass and steel landscapes, and Two Tone Studios, where she and husband Boyd Sugiki produce a line of functional blown glassware.

[nonmember]This archived post is for Members Only. Click here to become a member or to get a one day pass. If you are a member, please login to view the post. [/nonmember][private_archives]Zerkowitz’s landscapes are meant to evoke quiet moments in time that pass quickly; that cannot be put into words, only feelings. Scroll down to read how she combines the glass, steel and ink and watch the video below to see more – including a glimpse of the process involved in making blown glass beach balls (see in the last image on this pos)t.

November, kiln cast glass, steel, ink, 20”x20”x3”

Of Moss and Fern, kiln cast & slumped glass, steel, ink, 49”x49”x4”

The Play of Light , kiln cast glass, steel, ink, bronze, 21”x32”x3”

Morning’s Blanket, kiln cast glass, steel, ink, 10”x10”x4”

Beach Balls, blown & cold worked glass, 5”-15”d

“The steel panels in the Botanical pieces are my canvas; where the landscape begins to take form from a simple line. Each mark traps ink that I apply to the surface of the steel, to provide a marriage of color and form. The glass and bronze elements provide a layering that is akin to the organics of nature. Most importantly, the glass is the light, bringing the viewer to a specific moment in time when light and nature combined are a language of their own.” Lisa Zerkowitz

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Brent Kee Young has been a leading artist in the glass arts movement for four decades.  In his latest body of work, the Matrix series, Young flame works thin Pyrex rods, creating multi-layered glass webs that are both delicate and strong, geometric and organic – full of straight lines and flowing curves.

Canyon Land Studies, Pyrex Glass, 39″ x 30″ x 15″

Cubism I, Essence of Study, Pyrex Glass, 27″ x 27″ x 27″ (27″ x 60″ x 20″ expanded)

Elliptical Construct Leaning, Pyrex Glass, 40 ” x 20″ x 34 “

A Professor and Chairman of the Glass Department at the Cleveland Institute of Art since 1973, he spent a year and a half in Japan (while on sabbatical in 1990) to establish the first glass program in a national university in that country.

The Matrix series is a departure from Young’s earlier work, which includes blown glass vessels held in many permanent collections. You can view more of this series at Jane Sauer Gallery.

Scroll down to the very bottom of this page and click on his picture to listen to Young speak about the Matrix series in a SOFA interview.