24 Hawai'i glass artists assemble a glittering show

By Victoria Gail-White
Advertiser Art Critic

•	'Keepers of the Flame' Through June 14 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays The ARTS at Marks Garage 1159 Nu'uanu Ave.

Twenty-four artists have submitted 43 glass works for this membership show.

After their recent participation in the "Fire to Form: Glass Artists of Hawai'i" show at The Contemporary Museum at First Hawaiian Bank, glass artists Ture Gustafson, Rick Mills, Michael Mortara, Hugh Jenkins, Stephanie Ross and Wilfred Yamazawa show up here to dazzle us once again.

Gustafson's "Untitled" series of blown and wheel-cut glass vessels are a pop-art riot of circular shapes. They are just as much fun to view inside with the light filtering in as they are outside with the light reflecting off the surface.

A flush of various shades of deep greens and blues wrap around Mortara's blown glass "Rainforest Nouveau" vessel, while the vibrant green in "Rainforest Bowl" appears to nurture and energize the clear glass leaf resting inside it.

The three blown-glass vessels of Hugh Jenkins and Stephanie Ross have strata of deep reds and oranges with contrasting colors that give them an atmospheric quality suggestive of life on Mars.

Yamasawa's blown-glass "Moon Shadow" and "Blue Nebula" are large paperweights — lovely mini-worlds fused with an internal atmosphere.

It is encouraging to see recent University of Hawai'i art graduates Kip Howe and Ali Chapin's participation in this exhibit. Chapin's blown and engraved "Organic Battuto" vessel is rich in color (cobalt blue) and indented with texture. Howe's blown glass "Ancient Amphora No. 4" looks as if it were stolen from the Honolulu Academy of Arts' Venetian glass collection.

The sculptural works of Jean-Pierre Canlis, Sarah Farr and William Grix are impressive and personal.

Canlis's "Royal Blue Wave" is a long, hollowed hand-blown and sculpted wave shape layered with bubbles suggestive of ocean froth. The blue interior of this vessel suggests the inside of a wave and evokes the feeling of surfing "in the tube."

Farr's "Dreaming" consists of three blown-glass orbs, separately engraved with a fairy godmother, a princess and a toad king. They are connected to cast-glass chair legs with pink ribbons.

One of Grix's "Untitled" clear cast works consists of the upper part of a face, with the mouth replaced by a series of button impressions. The concept is a powerful one, beautifully executed.

Nature inspired both Jason B. Minami's "Bee Vase," a substantial explosion of bright yellow with a yellow and black swirled rim, and Bernice Akamine's "Topiary," a fusion of pale green and clear leaves that incorporates hot worked and blown-glass with cold lamination. The exhibit is veiled in a memorial for Robert Miller, past founding member of the hui, and includes a benefit silent auction (with eight works) and one master work being raffled to help his family with medical expenses. The raffle piece is the collaborative effort of Rick Mills, Ture Gustafson and Mark Mitsuda. "It is a Venetian-inspired piece with Italian Renaissance influences," says Mills, "a tribute to Bob, who was a renaissance man."

The large blown-glass vessel made by Mills has white swirls in transparent black glass and utilizes a technique developed in Renaissance Italy. Mitsuda's optic molded hanging goblets also were inspired by that era, complete with wings on the connecting rings. The lid was made by Gustafson, using a technique that marks a new renaissance in glass, developed by Corning in the 20th century — photosensitive glass.

In celebration of the second "First Friday" event in downtown Honolulu on June 6, there will be an opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m. that will feature a glass-blowing demonstration with a cast of hui enthusiasts: Rick Mills, Mark Mitsuda, Ruben Tapia and more. Too hot to be missed! For more information about the Hot Glass Hui and its workshops, reach Rick Mills at rmills8189@aol.com.