by Karen S. Chambers, Tina Oldknow, Tampa Museum of Art Availability: This title usually ships within 2-3 days. Paperback - 128 pages (April 1999)
Photographs Highlight Contemporary & Historical Art Glass Artisans have worked in glass for five thousand years. But only recently have artists turned their hands and minds to this traditionally utilitarian and decorative material. This book showcases fifty exquisitely rendered works of glass art. Ranging from traditional forms such as vases, goblets, and bowls, to meticulously reproduced glass flowers encased in blocks of clarity, to interpretive statuary, the works in this book demonstrate a dramatic variety of artistic expression. Clearly Inspired also pictures historical glass works—among them an agate bowl from Rome of the first century B.C., an Islamic work of the mid 1300s, and a mosaic vase produced around 1955. It compares this work to that of contemporary artists and explains how dogged research and hard-won apprenticeships lead today’s artists to discover, or sometimes to reinvent, glassworking techniques thought lost to history. Breathtakingly lovely works of art by Dale Chihuly, Dante Marioni, Toots Zynsky, and seventeen other eminent glass artists are supported by informed and lively essays on the history of glassworking and on its twentieth-century conversion from craft to art. All plates are reproduced in full color. Note: Clearly Inspired is the companion book to an exhibition prepared by the Tampa Museum of Art.
Provides ideas & inspiration for glass artists Reviewer: A reader from Cleveland, Oh September 5, 1999 This is a great book for any glass artist seeking ideas & inspiration. It also makes a great coffee table book. It is in full-color & features a wide variety of beautiful, fused, blown, painted, lampworked & stained glass artwork. Artwork is arranged by artist. Most have more than one example of their artwork shown, along with biographical information. Captions list the artist, title, date, size, techniques used, & photographer. One of my favorite pieces is a nude woman lying down & resting her hands on her face. I also enjoyed two unique dragon stemmed glasses & a blue sand-carved vase with white flowers. The dragonfly bowl is also quite impressive. A history of glass art with photos of antique pieces provides a prelude to the marvelous contemporary work that makes this book such a delight. The selections are outstanding and all beautifully photographed.