Why Glass Sculptures Deserve Respect as Much as Any Medium

There is no shortage of mediums in the art world thanks to its focus on free flowing ideas and expression. Art was one of the first forms of interpretation that mankind was able to create, even dating back to the first cave paintings and wooden sculptures. Eventually each medium would continue to evolve due to innovation and the desire for new and exciting pieces.

Beginning in the Roman Empire in the first century BC, the sculpting of glass become a popular technique which involved the heating of sands and the creation tools to facilitate blowing into the melted material to create glass sculptures. The word and technology of glass blowing quickly spread across Europe. It’s a difficult medium to work in considering the fragility of each piece but this actually makes it a more coveted method.

There was a surge in its popularity during the “studio glass movement,” which was initiated in 1962 by the unlikely combination of Harvey Littleton, a ceramics professor, and Dominick Labino a chemist engineer. They held a workshop at the Toledo Museum of Art in which they began experimenting with the process of melting glass in a small furnace and creating blown glass sculptures. This movement spawned a wave of interest in the subject.

Over the years many glass artists have experimented and created art with their own innovated techniques and styles. One prominent artist is Karen Lamonte, a 47 year old who has spent many years perfecting her methods. She is best known for her life-size sculptures in ceramics, bronze, mono-type prints, and of course glass sculpting. Working with glass on such a large scale is extremely difficult from the need to make it keeps its form while preventing temperature changes from cracking the material.

The art world is always an exciting environment to follow with so many new styles and mediums always being created or changed. There’s no doubt that one of the most elegant and difficult pieces to work with are glass sculptures. The skill and discipline it requires takes years of practice and shows through when a piece is complete.