Glass artists are truly shapeshifters as they take raw glass tubes or shards then heat and manipulate them through various techniques including glass blowing, flamework, fusing, casting and stained glass. The end result can range from small to very large installations that captivate the viewer.
In our latest episode of Art Discovery, artists Caleb Siegler, Anthony Barbano, and Seth Fairweather describe their paths to becoming glass artists, and their own creative, and sometimes scientific methods of transforming glass into beautiful works of art.
For Caleb Siegler, the signs of becoming a glasswork artist appeared at a young age. He was a self-proclaimed pyromaniac, making homemade fireworks as a kid, until one day he witnessed professional glass blowing — and he was hooked.
Today, his raw passion for fire lends itself to his unique, often raw approach to glass art.
“A lot of my pieces use raw material that I then add to additional pieces to make a much larger artwork,” he said. “It’s become a trend for me. I have this desire to make larger work than I even have space to work in. It forces me to find creative ways to make the size of pieces at the scale I want.”
And while fire and raw materials drew Caleb to glass, for Anthony Barbano it was the ability to capture light while finding new techniques and styles to differentiate himself.
Known for his ultra-contemporary glass-blowing technique that involves physical vapor deposition of 24k gold and pure silver blown in glass, Anthony found that working with glass allowed him to explore new and interesting ways to express his interests.
“Glass artwork has always been fascinating to me, because there are really no limits,” he said. “I’m drawn to the unique 3-dimensional aspects that you can achieve with the medium.”
The array of techniques and the uniqueness of glass art making is no stranger to Seth Fairweather.
Using very distinctive equipment and a less common process known as hot casting, Seth creates extraordinary glasswork. This method heats the glass to approximately 2300 degrees Fahrenheit, turning the glass to liquid, which he then pours into various molds he’s created.
“One of the benefits of hot casting is being able to put stuff into these glass pieces,” he said. “I can manipulate it while it’s still liquid and I can add inclusions to really make the pieces unique.”
To learn more about how these artists seemingly blend skill with science to create beautiful art, watch the full Art Discovery below. And to learn even more about each of the featured artists, check out the following links:
Caleb Siegler:
Anthony Barbano:
Seth Fairweather: