The weather was unusually mild, with an amazing breeze and lots of sunshine. New Yorkers, inspired by the weather, made their way to Governors Island to watch as designers Peter Buchanan-Smith, Inna Alesina, and Paul Sahre worked with our glassmakers to realize their sketches in glass.
Bouy in the reheating furnace
Giant glass buoys inspired by eyes, flaming molds filled with found objects, and funky typography entertained an enraptured audience. Through most of the weekend, there was standing room only!
Designer Peter Buchanan-Smith tests the glass buoy for buoyancy
Peter Buchanan-Smith was determined to create a giant glass buoy that he could actually float in the water. The buoy resembles an eye, and the rope that tethers it to the bottom represents an optic nerve. Our gaffers experimented with shape, color, size, and technique. As with all great experiments sometimes it takes a few attempts to get the right piece. Everyone held their breath, and stared in amazement as glassmaker Chris Rochelle cracked off a successful buoy Sunday afternoon.
Designer Inna Alesina with her erector set prototype
Inna Alesina prepared a special plaster mold filled with found objects from her childhood and life in the Ukraine. As the glass gob was dropped into the mold, the flames engulfed the wooden pieces, and left a fossilized imprint behind. Alesina was also interested in creating the joints of an erector set, with the hope of using paper tubing to combine several into a large-scale piece.
Hot glass blown into the found objects mold
Designer Paul Sahre created a font that found national recognition. Many of you might remember the fun bubbly letters of Dr. Scholl’s “Gellin’” inserts. This funky font was the inspiration for Sahre’s Tower of Oh-Oh, a precarious stack of “o” and “h” letters in a color I can only describe as Kryptonite green.
Designer Paul Sahre and the "O" from his Tower of Oh-Oh
Gaffer Adam Holtzinger with the letter "H"
Read more about the designer’s concepts and see photos from past Governors Island GlassLab design sessions at http://www.cmog.org/glasslab/designers.
Don’t miss GlassLab on Governors Island for the final design sessions this weekend with Abbott Miller, David Weeks, and Georgie Stout!