Samuel F. Spees
Perfect: (adj) having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be. Absolute.
(v) make (something) completely free from faults or defects, or as close to such a condition as possible.
The pursuit of “perfection” is why I am drawn to glass as a process, as well as it being the foundation of my inspiration as an artist. This idea is interpreted differently because we all have our own version of what it means to us. Just a like, each of us renders the world through a distinctive lens. This observation is biased in many ways pertaining to memories and experiences, in addition to our own emotional construct. This body of work is evidence of how I decipher the beautifully perfect world around me through a colorful vignette of time and memory. These landscapes of pigment yield a much deeper understanding of my perception, helping to explore distortion in pattern together with my emotional connection to form and color in our natural world.
Blaine
Blaine is an MFA graduate of Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, who received her masters in large-scale cast glass sculpture. When asked about being a glass artist, she always laughs. She does not consider herself a glass artist, but rather a sculptor who appreciates glass as a material of contradiction. She finds opportunity for self-reflection in glass as a medium which is often underestimated for its strength and versatility. Her work aims to embrace these contradictions and challenge the expectations of glass as a material for fine art.
Blaine has worked for several artists and studios across the country and has sculptures in private collections and on permanent public display. After teaching at Tulane post-grad school, Blaine worked full time for the Pittsburgh Glass Center as an educator and studio technician. She recently relocated to Nashville, TN, to help her partner, Sam Spees, open a hotshop. Here she continues to develop her artistic practice and push the boundaries of glass sculpture.
