This is a resource that strives to inform, inspire, and motivate all who work in craft and wish to improve the creative expression of their work. While the book features flameworked glass and a selection of the leading artisans who do this work, the insights and recommendations presented transcend material and speak to broader issues relevant to all creative craftspeople. The book is made up of three parts, presented in engaging and accessible language. The first section consists of three essays by scholar-artists that provide essential context for the book by considering the recent history of craft; the relationships among craft, design, and art; and the many facets of beauty. Section two presents a personal retrospective on the 50-year career of internationally acclaimed artist Paul J Stankard. A pioneer in the Studio Glass Movement, Stankard is considered a living master in the art of floral paperweight making. The third section provides overviews of the careers of twelve highly regarded contemporary glass artists. Collectively, the reader is presented with insightful perspectives on the aspirations, strategies, challenges, and accomplishments of a representative sample of internationally respected flameworking artists.
Paul Stankard, the author of No Green Berries or Leaves--The Creative Journey of an Artist in Glass and his 2013 book Spark the Creative Flame--Making the Journey from Craft to Art is recognized widely as one of the world's master glass paperweight artists, and is famous for his flameworked floral motifs expressed in crystal paperweights, rectangular columns, and orbs. His book contains a collection of autobiographical essays that presents the author's record of his life as a struggling, then highly successful, artist; reveals insights into the challenges he faced as a dyslexic and how he came to understand, then circumvent, his disability; and records his perspectives on the history of the studio glass movement in America as he witnessed and experienced it during the past fifty years.
