Habatat Gallery Art Glass Exhibit Shines

"S'mores" by Eriko Kobayashi (2023) (Hot sculpted fused)

This year was the tenth anniversary of Habatat Gallery's Glass Coast Weekend in Sarasota. Based in Detroit, Habatat is the oldest and largest gallery in the United States devoted exclusively to artists whose medium is glass. And so the annual exhibit is a showcase of creations by the finest artists working in the field, with many of those artists on hand to talk with people about their inspirations and processes. 

While I've come to expect the unexpected at the show, I was still surprised to happen upon Eriko Kobayashi's "S'mores." My mouth started watering at a distant memory of toasting marshmallows over a fire until they reached that perfect level of gooeyness to layer on some chocolate and slip the delicious mess between two graham crackers. Yum!  And that's exactly the reaction Kobayashi is going for in her work. In her artist statement, she talks about how creating mundane objects triggers feelings of nostalgia and deepens her relationship with the object. I personally want to avoid having an ongoing relationship with s'mores, but I appreciate the sentiment. For more of Kobayashi's work, click here. 

"Little Bit" and  "The Roaring 20's" by Jen Blazina (cast glass and bronze)

These gorgeous little evening bags also caught my eye. Like Kobayashi, artist Jen Blazina is inspired by everyday objects and the memories they carry. She often works from old family photos or objects found in secondhand stores. 

In this case, Blazina's work was inspired by her grandmother, a fashionista who had a large collection of handbags. Blazina inherited the bags when her grandmother passed away and has continued the family tradition by collecting purses of her own. So she has lots of inspiration close at hand. Blazina shared that there's been some talk of using her creations in fashion shows. They are certainly beautiful enough for the runway.  

Blazina also made the bronze trays on which the bags sit as an homage to her grandmother's vanity tray. Hearing that made me think of my own tiny grandmother sitting at her vanity and brushing her surprisingly long hair. The similarities to Blazina's grandmother end there, though. In her worn country clothes, Grandma Mary was the furthest thing from a fashionista that you can imagine. But I digress. For more on Blazina and her work, click here. 

"Visionary #7" by Tom Scoon (2024) (cast glass and granite)

I was immediately drawn to Tom Scoon's stunning pieces made of cast glass and granite. There's something about their faces -- featureless yet full of expression -- that reminded me of the moai I recently saw on Easter Island. 

Scoon sources his granite from a quarry in New Hampshire, looking for stones that speak to him. Here he imagines the cleft of a chin, there the shape of a torso. Back at his studio, he cuts the granite into the desired shape with a circular saw. Then he pours molten glass into a plaster mold to make the balance of the figure. His goal is to create a work in which there's continuity between the stone and glass components. To my eye, he does that beautifully. But it's the contrast between the textures of the granite and the glass that makes these works special. I particularly like the figure with the legs crossed at the ankles. 

For a wonderful video of Scoon creating one of his works, click here. 

"A Feeble Light Glimmered" by April Surgent
(2020)(fused and engraved glass)

I'll leave you with "A Feeble Light Glimmered...Cautious Gray Thoughts" by April Surgent. (Apologies to the artist that my photo doesn't quite capture the contrast.) Surgent engraves her fused glass to capture images of people and places she's photographed in her journeys. While glass engraving is traditionally considered a decorative art (think cameos and fancy glassware), Surgent's work is distinctly contemporary. 

I happened upon an Instagram post in which Surgent shared her thoughts behind this piece. She wrote, "Social ecologists argue that climate change is as much a social crisis as it is an environmental one, and in order to adress one, you must address the other. The shadowy figure in this piece teeters on the threshold between who they have been and who they are becoming. Reimagining who they are and how they might adapt to our changing planet." It's an interpretation I wouldn't have come up with on my own, but I can see it. The figure seems to be fading away just as the health of our planet is. What can I add except a link to Surgent's website? 

If this post has given you a hankering to see some glass, don't miss the 16th Annual Basch Glass Exhibition at Ringling College. This year's theme is "Human Form: A Body of Work." I managed to snag a slot for a tour with Barbara Basch in March and will report back after that. I did sprint (very carefully) through the exhibit on opening night, and it's spectacular as always. And if you happen to be in the Detroit area, make time for a stop at Habatat Gallery. I'm already looking forward to next year's exhibit.