Description
Pizzichillo & Gordon Studio Art Glass Vase 7.25" tall x 6.5" wide.<br>No cracks, chips, or restorations.<br><br>Bruce Pizzichillo and Dari Gordon are internationally known artists who create<br>large, colorful handblown glass vases, sculptural vessels and bowls as well as<br>intriguing glass and mixed media sculptures. Using glassmaking techniques that<br>are thousands of years old, along with many of their own invention, Bruce and<br>Dari melt glass in furnaces that are designed for work in multiple colors. They<br>achieve a palette of distinctive colors by mixing various metallic oxide<br>formulations containing gold, silver, cobalt and others, into the molten glass.<br>They heat the raw materials in large ceramic pots inside a glass furnace at<br>temperatures in excess of 2400 degrees Fahrenheit. As the molten liquid glass<br>achieves a working temperature, the artists gather the fluid substance onto the<br>end of a five foot long steel pipe or rod. They blow, manipulate and shape the<br>mass of molten glass, constantly spinning it and dipping it back into the pot<br>for additional gathers if the piece is exceptionally large. For decoration, they<br>apply shards, frit, bits and strings of colored glass that they have pre-made to<br>the hot surface of the glass, and then reheat the piece to fuse the elements to<br>the surface. When they complete the blowing and shaping process, they remove the<br>piece from the pipe and place it into an annealing oven, where it will cool<br>slowly over a specific period. In general, the larger and thicker the piece, the<br>longer the time required for it to anneal. If not properly annealed, the piece<br>will shatter when exposed to room temperature. Finally, the artists inspect each<br>piece to determine if it meets their standards for first quality. They then<br>proceed with the finishing work, which can include cutting, grinding and<br>polishing before signing the completed piece. Depending on the size and<br>complexity of the piece, the artists may reject half the pieces they make, or<br>more, for lacking the requisites of first quality. Bruce studied at the<br>University of New Mexico and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in glass from<br>the California College of Arts & Crafts, where he studied with world-renowned<br>glass artist Marvin Lipofsky. Bruce has worked with glass since 1976. <br><br>TW9
