nigel wimberly
KSU MFA GLASS
KSU MFA GLASS
It’s total bullsh!t that glass is a liquid at room temperature. But, in this shop, it undoubtedly is basically clear lava mixed with certain doom.
Drawing a blob of molten glass from the glory hole (I swear to god, it's called a glory hole) the duo spins and blows the infernal cocktail of silica into a drawn out bulb, expanding a volume under breath. An exchange of life from one vessel to the other.
Nigel was telling me about this awesome commonality between glass blowers and martial arts(artists?) The belt system is commonly used to distinguish a range of experience from white, to reds, browns, blues and famously, black which as legend has it, is said to be derived from the actual staining and patina developed over its wear, noting the experience and practice put towards the wearer.
Glass blowers use a blow hose when blowing by themselves to inflate air into their work and starting with the classic color urethane, over time from picking up soot, sand and stains, the experienced blower shows their mark in the acuity of their practice, and the color of their hose. Pretty neat, huh?
Coordination and cooperation - a push and pull integral to the flow of glass
Make no mistake - glass is not fragile. In this state glass is at its most ductile.
Shrinking, stretching, expanding and contracting.
Thank you to the Kent State University Glass Department @kentstate_glass and artists Nigel Wimberly @swollen.nolan and Art Mooneyham @artbyartbrand
Photography by Christopher Liu
Shot on Sony a6000 - Tamron 70-300mm f4.5-6.6 + SMC Pentax 50mm f2