Pattern, Play, Repeat.

My practice has recently shifted from the molten medium of liquid hot glass to the rigid rough exteriors of dried and hard packed paper pulp. I went from the hot glass shop to the cold and damp papermaking studio; a process which I learned online from YouTube videos. I found myself here by chasing the vintage patterns of faux cut crystal surfaces that once lived in my Mother's curio cabinet. These relics of a bygone era, although once fashionable, are now nostalgic at best.

I use these discarded, found and thrifted 'pressed' glassware pieces for sheet casting handmade paper. I collage the finished pieces into two-dimensional works and recently reversed the process to collaging cut glass pieces for a more unified final paper composition. I create discs of glass by slowly heating up bowls and spinning them into rondels. The pieces are cut, polished, puzzled and glued together to make the paper molds. Both the molds and the finished paper pieces are shown together as finished works and they are intrinsically intertwined.

I am fascinated by the tangled relationship of the "mass-produced" to the dissemination of goods to the masses. While the abundance of products offers a better quality of life to the lower classes, an unfortunate side effect has resulted in the loss of traditional craft processes. I see a parallel to the invention of the printing press, making books more readily available which greatly benefited the working class and then usurped the need for hand-lettered manuscripts. In turn, our use of digital tools has stifled our use of script.

Do these ends justify the means?

These glass pieces are a vehicle for re-recording surfaces, and re-contextualizing what was once carved meticulously by hand. I am exploiting these facsimiles of craft, which bypass the laborious nature of an antiquated trade— now lost to industrial production. By capturing the intricate designs, then translating them into a new medium I grant them new life, and bestow upon them a renewed purpose. Advances in technology will continue to cull traditional crafts; however artists can utilize the wheel of history to purposefully reincarnate. The new iterations of these antique motifs live on in the same outmoded style however, the new interpretation signifies a rich historical past.