By: The Glass Otaku Like functional glass art today there was once a time when marbles and paperweights were seen as just another form of "folk art". Up until the early 60's these artists made their livings traveling place to place hoping to sell their wares for hopefully what it cost them to make it and travel with it. That was until Paul Stankard stepped into the scene... Paul Joseph Stankard was born April 7, 1943. Living in Massachusetts in his early years, he then graduated from Salem Vocational Technical Institute in Salem, New Jersey with a degree in Scientific Glassblowing. For the first ten years of his work career, he worked as a glassblower making scientific instruments for various chemical laboratories. With a driving desire to be on the creative side of glass, Stankard started producing glass paperweights in his garage while working in industry to support his growing family. At that time Stankard displayed his early paperweights at a craft exhibit on the boardwalk of Atlantic City, New Jersey During one exhibition Reese Palley, an internationally respected art dealer, saw his work and sponsored Stankard financially to move full time into making glass art. Assemblage At that time in the early 1960s, paperweights made by other American paperweight makers showcased brightly colored "crafty" type flowers that were not botanically accurate. Stankard worked tirelessly, honing his skills to make his glass floral designs look more natural and botanically life-like. The end result, his glass flowers were so real looking that many people mistakenly thought that he had found a way to encase actual flowers in glass. Soon thereafter, paperweight makers worldwide were following Stankard's lead. Honeybee Swarming a Floral Hive Cluster Since then Stankard has become an internationally acclaimed artist and is largely credited with changing the status of glass paperweights from that of "craft" to that of "fine art". Among many other museums, Stankard's work is exhibited at The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC; the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, New York; the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and the Musée du Louvre in Paris, France; the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, England; and The Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York. Golden Orbs Floral Cluster Recently Stankard has done what many other masters of their craft have done, teaching. From returning to his former alma martyr to teaching flame working at the Ezra Glass Studio in Fukui, Japan, he has circumnavigated the world teaching eager flame workers his tricks of the trade. He has also began to take notice of the ever-evolving pipe art community, having made statements urging other traditional artists to take notice of the young wave of talented artisans making glass pipes. Paul teaching a group of students His latest endeavor has gotten us most excited, on June 25th, 2012 Stankard announced his upcoming collaboration with Boro-master Clinton Roman. Look out for the exclusive interview and article on IgniteMe.co.
I saw this guy's work when I visited corning. It is all very detailed and amazing to look at in real life. Here's a few pictures that I took while I was there, I hope the glass otaku doesn't mind me posting them here.
people on this website have no concept of money, at all 6,500 won't even buy you a new car or put a down payment on a house
[quote name='"shitloaf"']people on this website have no concept of money, at all 6,500 won't even buy you a new car or put a down payment on a house[/quote] So? That's still a shitton for a glass orb
You've obviously never been to corning... & like I always say, it's about the art. People sell paintings for thousands of dollars all the time.
Yes this is defiantly fine art right here, not in my price range as a collector but as the great Dr. Indiana Jones once said... "It Belongs in a Museum!"
yeah but once you spend that 6,500 you are that much farther away than having that new car or down payment on a house, just because people are smart about their money doesnt mean they have no concept of money. its actually the other way around if you think about it