GASNews October/ November 2011 Volume 22 ... - Glass Art Society

The Glass Furnace is located in the
green fields of the Black Sea Region, in a
small village outside the city of Istanbul.
The area is synonymous with Beykoz Glass
and the Turkish filigrano technique Cesm-i
Bulbul. Past Glass Furnace instructor
Pamina Traylor made the most of the
natural wonders of the area when she took
her class on a number field trips during the
session, noting how much the long history
and rich culture affected the experience
of students and teachers alike. Another
past instructor, Michael Rogers, recounts
a particularly odd but magical experience
of his time at the school: “I had expressed
an interest in the poetry of Rumi, whose
followers founded the Order of the Whirling
Dervishes, famous for its Sufi dance. I was
engraving Rumi’s text onto my glassworks
one day in the studio and was asked if I’d
like to blow glass while a Dervish danced
in the glass studio. I said of course, then
in a day or two it happened. To blow glass
within that atmosphere was to me an
experience beyond words!”
While writing this article, I noticed that
the experience of those who have been
to The Glass Furnace always seems to
be blessed with the generosity and warm
nature of the staff and locals. Visitors feel
immediately at ease despite the difficulties
Traditional beadmaking
at The Glass Furnace
(image courtesy of
The Glass Furnace)
that the language barrier can and does
present. The experience there cannot help
but be different from other great glass
schools that exist. It is totally unique.
Image Gallery
To see more from
The Glass Furnace,
click here.
Thesis Done!
Justin Ginsberg
Masters of Fine Art - Glass
University of Texas at Arlington
Thesis Completed: May 2011
Justin Ginsberg’s artwork dramatically
depicts a highly personal vision of
gesture, balance and the nature of
fragility. His work combines unorthodox
technique with dramatic installations to
pose questions about the nature of body,
time and mortality.
His study of glass as an expressive art
material has always been about exploring
its limits both physically and conceptually.
His initial explorations investigated
sculpting glass into figurative forms
by utilizing non-traditional techniques of
literally pushing the hot glass from the
inside of hollow glass shapes.
A subsequent variety of diverse
experiments expressing Ginsberg’s sense
of figure, movement and communication
led to his unique approach to manipulating
hot glass. By stretching thousands of
molten glass threads and bundling them
into either fused calligraphic movements
or delicate large-scale glass-thread
installations, these performative sculptures
enact the danger of glass and its potential
disintegration – its tenacious delicacy and
futile impermanence.
David Keens
Professor & Area Coordinator – Glass
University of Texas at Arlington
Please click here to access Justin
Ginsberg’s thesis, located on GAS’s
new Thesis Shelf.
Justin Ginsberg’s 810 South Davis, 2010 (16’ x 2’ x 2’; glass)
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