Winter 2022 Newsletter

Winter 2022 Newsletter

What's new with David Patchen Handblown Glass

In this Newsletter:

  • Demonstrations:
    • GAS Conference
    • Corning Museum of Glass
  • Collaboration with James Devereux Update
  • Interview with Contemporary Glass Society: "Master of Murrine"
  • Still Hot From the Kiln (new work)
  • Artist Talks:
    • Sandra Ainsley Gallery
    • Elder Gallery of Contemporary Art

2022: Getting Back Out in the World!

Cancelled shows and demos were par for the course for the last two years, but with the family vaxxed & boosted and infection rates down, I'm game to travel.

In May, I'll be demonstrating at the Glass Art Society 2022 International Conference in Tacoma, WA, with James Devereux, where we will make one of our collaborative Clovis sculptures (see below). Then in October I'll be the guest artist at the Corning Museum of Glass, blowing glass in their amphitheater hot shop.

Collaborations Update: James Devereux 

My collaboration with James Devereux, a UK-based glass artist has been going strong over the past year.  We began this project just before the pandemic and have completed a dozen sculptures without the benefit of working in the studio together.  We communicate via text and email with me making the patterns in San Francisco and shipping James patterned murrine blanks (thick densly-patterned cups) which he heats up in his studio in England to create the finished sculpture forms.

Aside from being distinctive and beautiful forms, a particularly interesting aspect of these is the hot-chipped edge. James creates this edge texture by carefully hammering the sculpture while the glass is hot on the punty, chipping away chunks of glass, exposing the interior and creating the scalloped edge.  You can see a short video on my Instagram of James chipping the second Clovis we made in San Francisco at the beginning of our collaboration. 




















 

Contemporary Glass Society

The Contemporary Glass Society (UK) interviewed me for a feature in this month's Glass Network Magazine.

Their questions were insightful and ranged from my beginnings in glass to creative inspiration to process. 

You can read "Master of Murrine" on their website.



 
Still Hot From the Kiln

A first look at brand new works headed to galleries and collectors next week:



















 

Artist Talks

I recently did two talks via Zoom for Sandra Ainsley Gallery in Toronto and Elder Gallery of Contemporary Art in Charlotte.  In these talks I provide an overview of my work, how I became involved in glass, my inspirations, my perspective on my work, how it is made, etc.  When I discuss the collaborative sculptures with James Devereux, he joins the talk to add his perspective on our joint work.

If you missed them, both galleries recorded the talks and have them on their respective Youtube accounts linked below.  Pro tip: after you click a link below, on YouTube you can select 'settings' (the gear icon) and play these at a faster speed if you would like me to talk faster :)

Sandra Ainsley Gallery - slighly longer and comprehensive
Elder Gallery - a bit more concise

Murrine Institute of Technology

For those interested, I still have some of these MIT t-shirts available for sale!  The backstory:

Early in the pandemic when the glass studio was closed, I had time on my hands and decided to pursue a project that had been on the back burner for years. 

From years of answering the question "How did you learn to make glass like this?" I explain the combination of years of experimentation, analysis, persistence and practice paired with very brief experiences with some top-notch artists.  But after years of explaining what seemed disjointed and random, I realized this was really a very informal, self-directed education with some demonstrations along the way. 

After one demonstration to a collector group I joked with my assistant that I was the founder, dean, professor and perennial student of the "Murrine Institute of Technology". The fact that the initials were ironic didn't hurt, and MIT became the humorous shorthand for my educational journey in glass.

So with my extra time thanks to Covid-19, I had a designer create these logos and had some t-shirts made up for my fictional alma mater, which is now only a millimeter closer to full accreditation.  Here are instructions to order one.

 

Other Media
 
I'm frequently asked about previous articles and videos so here are some good links .

Follow Me On Instagram

While I'm blowing glass, I frequently post to my Instagram feed. So if you want a window into how my work is made, you can follow me on Instagram.

















 

Questions?  Contact me at 650-740-9794 or email david@davidpatchen.com

For more frequent glassiness, follow me on
 
  

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