Hand-blown glass vase featuring swirls of color reminiscent of the Aurora Borealis. Glass artist Buzz Blodgett has been blowing glass since 1969. Coming from a family of artists, it is only natural that he became one himself. The family glassblowing studio is alive and well, flourishing in the small coastal beach community of Leucadia along the southern California coast of Encinitas. According to Blodgett, “I was always impressed with the frozen liquidity of glass, which seemed to mesh with my love for the ocean and surfing.” Blodgett has had exhibitions at the Corning Museum and has exhibited his glass in galleries in Seattle, California, and New York since 1975. Each piece is a unique design, crafted and polished by hand, and signed and dated by the artist. Due to the unique nature of each piece, slight variations in size and color can be expected. ARTISTIC GLASSModern glassmaking employs historic techniques that date back to around 1500 BCE in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, later refined and popularized by the ancient Romans in the first century BCE. Glass production continued to progress in Italy over the centuries, and by the 1200s, become a major industry and lucrative profession for artisans working on the island of Venice. Artworks spanning the history of glass can be found throughout the Getty Museum’s collections. All glass production begins with a sand base of silica, soda ash, and lime. The sand is heated to extreme temperatures and allowed to cool down, then shaped into objects, vessels, and jewelry by blowing through a tube or pouring into a pre-formed mold. We celebrate glassmaking in all forms and the maintenance of these traditional techniques through the work of contemporary artists and studios. - Dimensions: Approx 11 X 3 X 3 inches- Item#: SFV30AU
