Wednesday, March 20, 2013

two amazing women


There are many art glass centers across the nation, studios that bring in visiting professional artists to teach, but until a few years ago there was no such place in Houston. Now, thanks to Bob Paterson, we have Hot Glass Houston.

We've taught a few classes there but better than that, he brings in some really great talent, friends who I rarely see, just so I can visit with them!

Not really.

He brings in really great talent to teach and share amazing techniques. I'm lucky enough to be able to barge drop in on their classes to see what they are doing (and how they do what they do) and visit with my friends who live out of state.

In the last month he has brought in two amazing glass artists, Catharine Newell and Linda Ethier.

Catharine paints these wonderful dimensional portraits of people and birds and landscapes by noodling colored glass powders around multiple layers of glass and fuses them together. Her images are so evocative, ethereal and filled with emotion. She just blows me away. And she is so serene herself. I'm lucky enough to have two of her earlier small 'notes'.

© Catharine Newell

© Catharine Newell

© Catharine Newell

© Catharine Newell

Linda is a caster like me. When we first met and got to know each other she was doing these wonderful thick castings with embedded figures and flowers and things. Then she did a lot of commission work. And then she didn't do anything at all for a while while she thought through and developed a completely new body of work that is so different from her previous work you would not know it was the same artist. While I really liked her work before, I adore her new direction. Maybe it's because we use a lot of the same things in our work...bones, sticks, leaves, egg shells, feathers.

© Linda Ethier

© Linda Ethier

© Linda Ethier

© Linda Ethier


I told her that every time I see her work I ask myself, why didn't I think of that. I ask myself the same question when I see your work, she replied.

No better compliment than having your work admired by artists whose work you admire.



Thank you Catharine and Linda.




The images of Catharine's work are from the website of Bullseye Gallery.


The images of Linda's work are from her website.



12 comments:

  1. Oh I would love to have just a very small percent of this talent. Such lovely works all!

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  2. Wow, these are just beautiful. It's inspiring to look at works like this, and especially great if you know the artist.

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  3. How cool! I love the examples you've shown here.

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  4. A trio of very talented women, being able to exchange ideas and views on each other’s work can only be beneficial for all of you.

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  5. so gorgeous I can't breathe- I don't even know how this kind of art is possible! Y'all rock! Amazing work!

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  6. How fabulous - the pieces you have chosen to display here are breathtaking

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  7. I can see why you are smitten with their work. Both are wonderful artists. Beautiful pieces.

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  8. Wow. Breath taking. But that is what I always say when I see your amazing pieces.

    Oh, that and "I WANT. . ." ::smiling::

    [Forgive me as I try to play catch up on your posts. I have been under the radar for a while, but have been thinking of you!]

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  9. Amazing work. I never knew glass could be so versatile.

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I opened my big mouth, now it's your turn.