Art Glass by Paul Harrie

Harrie Art Glass

Bowls

Artist Info:

Born:

Grand Forks, ND, 1951

Education:

1980

MFA, University of California, Los Angeles

1976

BFA, University of Kansas, Lawrence

Teaching Experience:

1981-83

Glass Instructor, California State University, Long Beach

1980

Glass Instructor, California State University, Northridge

1981-82

Glass Instructor, Clay/Glass Workshop, CSULB

1978-79

Assistant Instructor, Glass, UCLA

Professional Experience:

1980 to present

Private Glass Studio, Harrie Art Glass

1980

Guest Artist, Clay/Glass Workshop, CSULB

Artist Statement:

Growing up in North Dakota, my work is influenced by that pristine, snow covered landscape and the clear, icy light of winter. I like to make pieces that give the impression of opening up, finding a mysterious beautiful interior. My Saturn pieces are an example of this. They are blown glass spheres with multiple layers of colored and clear glass sometimes with tiny canes wrapped around a central core. When cool the sphere is cut open like a geode, faceted and polished.

My work is also concerned with classical form, combined with striking color combinations. I use a number of techniques: colored glass canes to produce precise striping, colored powders to create layers, and solid color to create color fields. I also use the 15th century Italian technique of Murrini to create mosaic like vases and bowls. I pull individual rods of colored glass into square and rectangular shapes. When the rods are cool I slice them crosswise into thin sections which are used to create abstract patterns. The pattern is placed on a metal plate and heated. When it is fused together the pattern is rolled onto a gather of molten glass on the end of a blowpipe. The murrini are heated in the furnace, cased in crystal and blown into shape. In all of my work I place a premium on the quality of my glass, using only the finest materials and the most exacting standards.

My latest work involves casting pieces of my glass mixed with cement into forms. When the cement and glass matrix is set up I cut it with a large diamond saw and then optically polish the cut surfaces. This tectonic series is exciting for me. It allows me to mix different sizes, shapes and colors of my glass and create a totally new piece.

Harrie Art Glass is a small studio and I do all the blowing. I love working with glass and making my art every day. I am still striving to capture that clean, crystalline quality of North Dakota, working to encase a surprise in glass, exploring color and am determined to produce the finest work I can.

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