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

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A detail of Jessie Blackmer’s Pinkies, 2011 (4.5” x 4.5” x 4.5”; OSB, dryer lint, flameworked glass) Student Profile Jessie Blackmer Showing the Space We Share By Jessi Moore Home is where the heart is. Jessie Blackmer would also remind us that home is a breeding ground for insects, bacteria and other creatures. Even in our most personal, private moments, we share our space with thousands of other organisms. In her artist statement, she addresses this interest. “We live with small nibbling animals and sucking and biting insects,” she writes. “They live in the folds of our couches, beds, and clothes, run over us in our sleep and nest in the walls of our homes. They eat the crumbs we carelessly drop, and the skin we slough off; they drink our blood, leaving welts and take tiny bites of our flesh.” Our cohabitation with small crawling things is a fact that many would choose to forget. Blackmer’s work brings the uncomfortable truth about the domestic relationship between humans and other creatures to the forefront. She does this in a way that is both attractive and slightly nauseating. Visually referencing bacteria, pests, strange growths and illness, she beautifies and draws attention to the smaller things in life. Blackmer wants her viewer to consider the “complexity of the mundane,” asking them to think twice about the surrounding world. A prime example of this is her work Pinkies. Several small, pink, flameworked mice are housed in a diminutive chipboard box, cradled by dryer lint. They rest as if sleeping. There is something delicate about the small appendages and closed eyes. The work has an air of innocence yet at the same time is a bit off-putting. Pinkies, like much of Blackmer's art, both compels and repulses. As an artist, Blackmer utilizes glass for the inherent luminosity of the material. In the work Pinkies, this quality plays well into the believability of the piece. Blackmer does not just work in glass; she uses many other materials as well. Glass only makes an appearance when the material enhances her idea. In another series of work, Excision, Blackmer uses plaster to build sections of wall with strange cancerous growths. Playing off a similar theme as Pinkies, Blackmer explores the visual language of mutations and skin diseases in the context of domestic building materials. Much of Blackmer’s aesthetic draws from her childhood. Raised in rural Maine Jessie Blackmer’s Preserved Wart, 2010 (6” x 6.5” diameter; ceramic, glass, mineral oil) and home-schooled, she spent many hours of her formative years living in an unfinished house. Insulation, exposed plywood and other industrial building materials are utilized and highlighted. Blackmer’s work references the skeletal structures that house our everyday experience. Blackmer received her BFA with honors from Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2004. After receiving her undergraduate degree, Blackmer moved to Seattle, where she worked for several prominent artists as well as at Pratt Fine Arts Center. At Pratt, she worked both as an instructor and as the Glass Fusing Studio Coordinator. Blackmer has been a scholarship student as well as a teaching assistant and staff member at Pilchuck Glass School. She has also has served as technical assistant at both Penland School of Crafts and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. Having received her MFA this previous spring, Blackmer is spending the next five months hiking the Appalachian Trail, starting in Vermont and continuing on through to finish in Georgia. It’s a trip that could be rife with inspiration for future works. Image Gallery For more images from Jessie Blackmer, click here. 24
GAS Toledo 2012: Key Dates & Information Pre-Conference Reception – A Fundraiser TMA Glass Pavilion Wednesday, June 13, 6:30 pm - 9 pm Closing Night Party & Fashion Show Huntington Center Saturday, June 16, 8 pm - midnight Live and Silent Auctions Previews: Friday & Saturday, June 15 & 16 Live Auction: Sat, June 16, 6 pm - 7 pm Free & open to the public Gallery Hop Friday, June 15, 6:30 pm - 10:30 pm Free & open to the public 18th Annual Goblet Grab Friday, June 15, noon - 1:30 pm Free & open to the public Old Timers Blow Friday, June 15, 5 pm - 9 pm The Glass Art Society Collectors Tour Tuesday - Saturday, June 12 - 16 Days of Glass Toledo: Wednesday, June 13 Motor City: Sunday, June 17 Open to the public; many events are free Tom McGlauchlin Memorial Golf Outing Fundraiser Wednesday, June 13 (Register by April 12) Wednesday, June 13, Tours • Libbey Glass Factory Tour • Tour of Pilkington Float Glass Operation • Mark Matthews Studio, Sauder Village Tour & Luncheon • Tour of Johns Manville in Waterville • Architectural Tour • Public Art Tour Tech Display Browse the newest and best equipment, supplies, services, and publications in the glass industry. Vendors can sign up for booth space between Dec. 1, 2011, and Feb. 15, 2012. Free and open to the public on Friday and Saturday afternoons. Register Early to Save The onsite registration fee is $340 ($200 for full-time student members). But take advantage of our early-bird rate, which saves you $65 ($55). Early-bird registration runs December 1, 2011, to March 1, 2012. Register online or by using the form in the conference brochure. Look for the GAS 2012 Toledo brochure in your mailbox in November! GAS Resource Links To access the Glass Art Society’s up-to-date resources, just click on the links below. Exhibitions Classes & Workshops Job Opportunities For Sale GAS 2012 Sponsors The Glass Art Society salutes the following, who have already pledged their support. Block Communications, Inc. Calls to Artists Ohio Arts Council Toledo Museum of Art Libbey, Inc. Owens Corning O-I Pilkington NA Health Care REIT Kingston Healthcare Company Lucas County Margy and Scott Trumbull Mary Wolfe Other Opportunities Mansour Wealth Management ProMedica Entelco Foundation HCR ManorCare Brooks Insurance KeyBank Arts Commission of Greater Toledo, Inc. Bowling Green State University Hanson, Inc. Johns Manville Madhouse Design Owens Community College 25
Page 1 and 2: GAS News October/ November 2011 Vol
Page 3 and 4: GAS Line GAS 2012: Three Honorees!
Page 5 and 6: Matt Durran Floating Glass (kiln-fo
Page 7 and 8: physical plant are housed in a buil
Page 9 and 10: Tavares Strachen at Pilchuck (Russe
Page 11 and 12: Far Left: Rashaad Newsome, May/June
Page 13 and 14: Lemon/Ruby/Blue Vertical Group by H
Page 15 and 16: the tongue of the trailer and a dee
Page 17 and 18: Glassworks’ Juicy Lucy, the Blowi
Page 19 and 20: Sweden (image 4) At the Millesgård
Page 21 and 22: Scottish artist Graham Muir's work
Page 23: The Glass Furnace is located in the

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

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