2009 Kristie Rearick:
'Insular' by Marc Petrovic is shown above. Hot-worked glass birds, dyed wood, mixed. 2006
"WheatonArts' GlassWeekend '09 brings artists, collectors and curators together
Glass artists Marc Petrovic and Kari Russell-Pool admit they were both "seduced by the material" while taking courses in college. This married couple, graduates of The Cleveland Institute of Art, fell in love with the medium of glass and each other while studying art at the school.
"I didn't go there (The Cleveland Institute of Art) intending to work in glass," Russell-Pool said in a phone interview from her home in Connecticut. "But I was really seduced by the whole thing ... there's something so pumped up about glass that you don't find in painting."
The talented pair enjoy successful solo careers, but they do collaborate on art pieces as well, making them the perfect choice to join GlassWeekend '09 at WheatonArts in Millville. The biennial event, set for Friday, July 17 to Sunday, July 19, brings together leading artists, collectors, galleries and museum curators for a weekend of exhibitions, lectures, hands-on glassmaking, artists' demonstrations and social events.
Two collaborating couples will take part in panel discussions as well as demonstrate how their creative works are made during the weekend. Along with Petrovic and Russell-Pool, artists Sibylle Peretti and Stephen Paul Day will also be presenting their pieces at the event.
'Aromatic Amphora' by Karl Russell-Pool. Blown and flame-worked glass. 2008Petrovic and Russell-Pool have a unique way of working on their art pieces together.
"It's a give-and-take process," Petrovic said. "I'll make components and months or years later my wife may use it for a piece she is working on. We are not actively working on the same piece together in the same room."
Russell-Pool is a flame worker, she creates her works from a technique she developed. As for working with her husband, suggestions and insight into each other's pieces are often offered, and Russell-Pool has used Petrovic's blown birds in her works as well. Her intricate pieces are created by melting and pulling her own glass rods. She enjoys the colors she can achieve by working with glass. She uses "glass powders and pulls her own glass rods" to create color, giving her "control over color."
"With glass it's a one-step process," she said. "I make color decisions on the fly."
Petrovic, a hot glass sculptor, describes his pieces as "metaphorical and allegorical," explaining that there is "an idea behind the piece rather than a process." He has several pieces that are metaphors for the human condition, drawing inspiration from his own life.
"I don't make anything that is functional," he said.
The pair, who has two daughters, shares a studio where they work at their home near Essex, Conn. They have been guests at WheatonArts in the past and really enjoy coming there.
American artist Day and German artist Peretti have collaborated on glass works since 2000. This couple, also a husband and wife team, has shown their pieces at international and national institutions as well as museums and glass events all over the country. Both couples' pieces will be put on display at the event for glass art lovers to view and possibly purchase.
If you go: GlassWeekend '09 comes to WheatonArts at 1501 Glasstown Road in Millville on Friday, July 17, Saturday, July 18 and Sunday July 19. Visitors are welcome on July 18 and 19. Admission is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors, $7 for students and children under 5 are free. WheatonArts and Glass Studio demonstrations are included in the price of admission. There is an additional charge of $6 to visit galleries. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on July 18 and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on July 19. For more information call (800) 998-4552, (856) 825-6800 or visit www.glassweekend.com, www.wheatonarts.org."
Rearick, K. "Delicate Beauty." July 10, 2009. NJ.com. (The Gloucester County Times.) website accessed July 12, 2009. http://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/towns/index.ssf/2009/07/delicate_beauty.html
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