Another artist in the medium of recycled glass is John Bassett and some of his works are very interesting as well. More of his work can be seen on the web site, http://onlyhandmade.blogspot.com/2009/05/recycled-glass-art-by-john-bassett.html

Jamy Yang's "Sculpture of Skin" has a Egyptian feel to it, or mummy if you will. On the web site,http://www.jimonlight.com/2009/04/21/jamy-yangs-sculpture-of-skin/ you can see her works as well as these photos I found. Very out side the box. I like the idea she has with the organic flow of the skin on the lamps. The repetition of oval or tear drop shapes; these shapes would look very nice made out of multi colored glass.

"CONCEPTUAL ART"

1) Why is the "viewer" an important element in conceptual art? In an article titled "Conceptual Art" by Tony Godfrey he says, "Because the work does not take a traditional form it demands a more active response from the viewer, indeed it could be argued that the conceptual work of art only truly exists in the viewer's mental participation" (p 1).

2) Why was it so difficult for people to accept the "Fountain" by Duchamp, as art? People had a hard time seeing "Fountain" as art because it was not the traditional type of work that we were used to see and Godfrey says, "Before Fountain people had rarely been made to think what art actually was, or how it could be manifested; they had just assumed that art would be either painting or sculpture. But very few could see Fountain as a sculpture" (p 3).

3) What question did Duchamp pose with his "readymades"? The question that is asked by Duchamp's readymades is, can an everyday object be art? The answer is yes with conditions for example, like Tom Friedman who uses objects like pencils, chewing gum, and tooth picks to create art. Some of his works are on this blog so please take a peek.

4) Why is it difficult to categorize Conceptual art in the context of traditional art? As in question number two, people have been use to seeing art in the forms of painting and sculpture.

5) A quote from the article that caught my attention is. "Symptomatically, there has never been a generally accepted definition of Conceptual art, though many have been proposed" (p 9). The eye that views the work must decide for themselves if it is indeed art or not.

DUCHAMP'S "FOUNTAIN" can be seen at the web site. http://becksearlescott.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/fountain.jpg

The artist named Anna Skibska has also done some very off the wall art. I found some bio info on her from a web site named http://www.annaskibska.com/resume.htm and it says, Studied at the Academy of Art in Wroclaw, Poland, in the Department of Painting and the Department of Ceramics and Glass (with Eugeniusz Get Stankiewicz). Diploma awarded in 1984, in painting, glass design and graphic arts" (par 1). Here is some of her work and I hope you find it as interesting as I do.

Frank Gehry is an incredible artist that has incorporated his unique style into some of th most beautiful architecture and some of the most incredible designs that I have ever seen. This is truly inspirational as forms that I could use with the glass medium. On the web site http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/gehry_frank.html we learn that Frank Gehry is Canadian-born American Sculptor and Architect, born in 1929"(par 1). On another web site named, http://www.foga.com/home.asp they say, "Frank Gehry established his practice in Los Angeles, California in 1962. The Gehry partnership, Gehry Partners, LLP, was formed in 2002 and currently supports a staff of over 160 people" (par 2). Some of his chairs are made with cardboard and are very amazing. Such creative "out of the box" thinking. There is a good and short video clip on http://www.youtube.com about some of his artistic designs,and I realy liked this so if you like please try it out. On another web site called,http://www.tiffany.com/Shopping/CategoryBrowse.aspx?mcat=148206&cid=288188&search_params=s+5-p+1-c+288188-r+101297724-x+-n+12-ri+-ni+1-t+ we get a look into some of his artistic jewelry. His jewelry I found at http://www.tiffany.com/?siteid=1

My third found object for our latest project called, "Transformation" is a light bulb. After looking at its formal qualities which are Some are very transparent, some are not as transparent, they come in many sizes, they are glass and metal, massed produced, they illuminate, they screw into a socket, they come in different colors, they can dim, and they can get hot. Some of its informal qualities are that they light up the rooms we need, light up art works, create romance, happiness, fear, communicate, advertise, guide, alert, create art, light art, and can be art itself. Just looking at these found objects in an artistic manner I get a feel for them that I think could guide me to make something really cool ; however I think I will sick with a hair brush out of plastic forks.

Looking at BIC lighters for a while to see if they could be used in some fashion for my latest art project I found them to be, hard, plastic w/ metal top,man made, many colors, many designs, oval, long, same size (there is a mini), same shape, glossy, and some are flat in color. Some of the informal qualities are that they light candles, fireworks, stoves, cigarettes, camp fires, they are used for romance, prayer, eating, life, decoration, warmth, and to show praise. This is my second list of found objects that I can use for my transformation project. I will find one more object to look at very soon.

I have been thinking about the transformation project that we are doing. I have started a list of words that describe the formal and informal qualities of the plastic fork to assist me in coming up with the final decision on a project with these forks. The formal qualities of this fork are that it's plastic, white, smooth, pointy, glossy, shiny, long, skinny, flat, flexible,sharp, and man made. The informal qualities are that it's used for eating food, placed on a table, held in the hand, digging into soft food (mashed potatoes), for presentation, for romance, picnics, date nights (going out), weddings, or to pry open things. After studying these words I think that I will attempt a hair brush out of plastic forks. I will start playing with them again to find a way to get the brush design incorporated with the forks, then I need to address scope, scale, and shape.

Gene Pool is another artist who likes to use everyday items to create art as well. He has made some suits out of things like coins, grass, forks, and watches. He has even done some big projects like cars and buses in living grass. Here are some of the projects that he has done. These are just a few of his pieces that I found interesting and wanted to share.

Tom Friedman uses everyday items to create art. He uses art supplies from places like drug stores, candy stores, the human body, food, and many other things that you would find on in everyday life. He takes these items and transforms them into something totally different that the intended use for the item. Here are some projects of his that I found while researching him. He has inspired me to use the plasic forks to create something beautiful.

This week I have been working with some white plastic forks to use in a transformation project. I have been playing with the forks so that I can get a better feel for them and to get some inspiration for one of the ideas that I have for this project. At first I was thinking of making a six foot fork out of all the little ones that I have bought, however, I have also been thinking about a fish, bowl, spoon, hair brush, ball, rocket, and a drinking glass. Soon I will have a better idea of what I will make with this medium.

Feathaphant

Line, it’s everywhere we go, it’s in everything we do, and it’s all around us. What defines a line? According to the web site, “www.creativeglossary.com” they say, “ Line in drawing refers to a type of mark that contains both a direction and a length. Line is an art element” (par1). Line is so much more than just a simple mark, because, it’s outline, it’s depth, it’s shape, and scale. When we look at an abstract piece of art we first follow the line of the piece to find a common meaning. I played with line and geometric shapes until I found what I was looking for and it was triangles.

I used triangles and line to create an abstract elephant out of black glass rod. The use of line is very dramatic, and the triangles create general shape of an elephant, however, they seem to be a group of triangles as well with a reference to geometry. The line or armature acts as the skeleton for the elephant.

A skeleton needs skin so I chose white feathers to represent flight, freedom, and purity as both elephants and birds are free souls in this world. The feathers are not transparent but allow light to pass through. After working on this project (with some failed attempts) I found myself looking at nature and found inspiration there. It inspired me to move from a structure of sorts to a representation of life. The elephant with its power and memory, and the bird with its elegance and freedom are true inspirations.

Fate always has a hand in things and needless to say, the art project I was working on has taken a bit of a new turn as it cracked while working on it. The piece is not able to be saved. So I will start a new one with only days left to complete it. I have a new idea and now I guess this is a good time to try it out. So we will see soon if it's passable.

Robert Mickelson is a lamp worker that has been pushing the medium of glass to a whole new level. His use of line and color is extreme. He uses a grawl technique ( using a sandblaster to remove layers of color to reveal different color under each layer) to make his vessels. He also uses clear glass and line to form representational art pieces that are very natural to life. His work is very inspiring and very flawless. Here are some of my favorite pieces of his from the past decade. I can only hope that one day my work is as nice as his. Visit his web site to see much more of his work. You will see some very new ideas that he came up with and opened many of our eyes to the possibility s that this medium has and that the only limit is our own mind.