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Seekers Glass Gallery presents the work of Joel Bless and
Candace Luke-Bless, a husband and wife team who collaborate on a series of
handblown and cast glass candlesticks, bowls and other works.
They established their own studio in 1982, calling it Glasslight Studio, because
so many of their most popular works combine glass and light. Their original
designs range from traditional to contemporary.
Modern techniques and old world methods mix
easily in the Glasslight Studio, where a team of assistants aid Joel and Candace
in producing their varied selection of works. Using traditional methods that are
thousands of years old, they work the glass at temperatures in excess of 2200
degrees F.
The Bless's Cast Glass Candlesticks are executed
in clear crystal, sometimes accented with color. Each piece seems to freeze the fluid flow of molten glass
as it is poured into the handcrafted graphite form. The random manner in which
the glass cools creates fascinating and unique patterns, with no two pieces ever
exactly the same.
Their casting process requires physical agility, strength,
working with intense heat and spontaneous decision making as the molten glass is
poured into the forms.
Joel studied glassblowing at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and the
Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. Candace studied graphic design at RIT, and
applies this skill in the design of many of their lamps and other works. Each
piece is signed with the studio name and dated. In 1990 Joel and Candace Bless were honored when the Smithsonian's Renwick
Gallery in Washington, D.C., selected a Glasslight lamp to travel in the show
"Art That Works: Decorative arts of the 80s Crafted in America."
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