Christopher Hawthorne Works

Artist's Statement

"The forms I have chosen to work with are used primarily as a support for brilliantly colored abstract paintings.  These paintings are accomplished by combining a variety of elements, including color shards, cane, murrini, and etched glass, all of which are made ahead of time.  The designs are arranged and preheated on a hot plate.  The main body colors are usually transparent, applied in layers with opaque white sandwiched between interior and exterior colors, followed by several gathers of clear glass.  When the final layer of glass is gathered, the piece is rolled over the preheated design.  After working the design into the surface by reheating and shaping, the piece is blown out.  On some pieces solid glass elements are added at this point.  In some cases this is accomplished by having an assistant bring a hot bit of solid glass on another rod and laying it on the surface of the piece in somewhat of a comet shape with a long tail.  Deep groves are then pushed in the fresh glass of the bit perpendicular to its length with a large pair of tweezers to give it a swept effect.  Final shaping is done and the piece is put into the annealer until it is cool.”

“I began working with flat glass in my spare time while commercial fishing off the Oregon Coast in the mid 70’s.  I met Dale Chihuly through a mutual friend and was encouraged to try a session at Pilchuck.  I enrolled in the flat glass workshop led by Patrick Reyntiens in ‘78.   It was during this session that I became drawn to hot glass.“

“I enrolled in the hot glass program the following year and studied under Joel Meyers and Dan Dailey.  I was determined to pursue hot glass, but as financial reality would have it, I continued fishing.”

“Returning to Pilchuck in ‘84 to study under Fritz Driesbach and Marvin Lipovsky.  In the recent past, I have had the opportunity to study under Lino Tagliapietra and Loredano Rosin, both masters of Murano, Italy.  I have also been strongly influenced by Pino Signoretto in his attitude and approach to the material.  Pino is a master glass blower, but of more importance, a pioneer in solid hot glass sculptures.  Other artists that have had a strong influence on my work are Dale Chihuly, as he introduced me to hot glass, and William Morris, through his painterly approach to surface design and masterly control of form.  My experience from watching these talented people work has led me to believe that any idea can be executed in glass.”