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Seekers Glass Gallery
presents the work of Paul Bendzunas, whose
original designs in vases combine opaque, transparent and translucent glass with
clear crystal, achieving an interesting optical interplay of color and
reflection.
Combining traditional
design elements with contemporary influences, Bendzunas
has evolved an unusual style based primarily on natural and organic forms. His
surface patterns involve animal and aquatic imagery. He achieves this effect by
using colored enamels – the same crushed glass powders used in cloisonné
jewelry – and precious metals, in combination with bits of crushed glass. He
achieves distinctive colors using various formulations of metallic oxides such
as gold, silver, cobalt and others, blended into the molten glass. Using classic
glassblowing techniques that are thousands of years old, Bendzunas works the
glass at temperatures in excess of 2000 degrees F. He forms and shapes each
piece individually, without the use of molds. Each piece is one of a kind and is
signed and dated.
When
asked why he chose glass for his medium: "I like the immediacy of glass. I
can conceptualize and finish a piece in one process. Glass is like watercolor.
It needs to be in your mind ahead of time and done swiftly. If you lose a piece,
you learn something and go to another. You learn to see the potential of the
work and make allowances for those special things that happen when it is in
process. You save the
'mistakes' you like and correct the others."
The
artist, and his wife, Barbara, who is also a talented glass artist, live and
work in a small town in the south.
Bendzunas
earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Education and Sculpture from the
University of Georgia, Athens. He subsequently pursued graduate studies in Glass
at the renowned Penland School of Crafts, North Carolina.
His
work is included in numerous public and private collections, including those of
the Westinghouse Corporation, R.J. Reynolds Corporation and the State of Georgia
Council for the Arts and Humanities. He has exhibited his work at galleries,
museums and juried shows throughout the United States.
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