It was an ordinary day. Reading a few articles written about and by a young man whom I had as a student and athlete when I taught high school in the Manheim Township School District. Alex Brand, whom I also knew as Jeff, was a very shy young boy when I met him for the first time when he approached me about joining the high school rifle team which I coached. Over time he became a fantastic shooter as well as student. After graduation he continue his education at Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After graduation he has been crafting glass art for more than 40 years. He has shown his work at various museums, including the Corning Museum of Glass and Smithsonian. His work is also found in many private collections and appeared in several books and magazines, being selected four times for inclusion in New Glass Review. The following are remarks that I found published by Alex. For me, Happiness comes from living a creative life, whether I'm making art or making breakfast. I've always felt the need to do things differently than they've been done before. As a result, a lot of my work begins with trying new techniques, either completely new or at least new to me. I'd rather figure something out for myself than research it. This leaves more doors open; more possibilities; more excitement in the unknown. Often a new idea will yield something very different from what I had envisioned, but be just as interesting. I'll start with an idea but let the glass have a say in what it wants to be also. I try to stay out of my own way and not take the process too seriously; have fun with it. I enjoy working with other craft media and I am also a poet and singer/songwriter. I want to touch people on an emotional level through what ever I create, uplifting their hearts or inviting them to look into darker areas of my/their experience. A Quote by Leonard Cohen sums it up for me: "Poetry is the evidence of life. If your life is burning properly, poetry is just the ash." My work involves various ways to combine layers of color and the encalmo technique, which is the hot joining of two or more separate blown parts. I've experimented with many variations of this technique and in my latest work I cut the top parts of the vessels into squares before they are reassembled hot. The pieces are then blown further, distorted slightly, and other details are applied. This gives the pieces an oriental effect reminiscent of Japanese pagodas. The color banding on the surface of these pieces reminds me of photos of the planet Jupiter so I have titled this series "Jupiter Pagodas". This is a new direction for me and quite different from my earlier and very brightly colored "Ripening Series". I have not seen or been in contact with Alex for years, but have followed his artistry for years. I have several pieces of glass artwork, but none from Alex. Perhaps someday I will be able to see him once again and purchase a piece of his artwork. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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| Sample of art glass from Alex Brand |
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