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Seekers® Glass Gallery presents the work of Joi
and Dan LaChaussee, who create original designs in vases and bowls, some that
combine contemporary styling and colors with the ancient technique of latticinio.
They call these their "ribbon" series. Other designs incorporate a
"marbled" design that features swirls of mulitiple colors.
Using classic glassblowing methods that are
thousands of years old, the LaChausees create each piece at the end of a five
foot long blowpipe, at temperatures in excess of 2000 degrees F. They blow each
piece freely, without the use of molds, primarily from glass they have
formulated and made themselves. Working together and separately, the LaChausees
are accomplished in the use of latticinio, a technique that dates
back to pre-Roman times and was widely used by glassblowers in 16th Century
Venice. Traditionally executed in white and clear, latticinio yields a delicate
lacy pattern that appears to be spun from molten glass.
The term latticinio refers to an Italian
Renaissance technique of creating handblown glass objects from a number of
twisted glass canes. Various canes are arranged side by side on an iron plate
and heated to 1500 degrees F. The canes are then picked up on a blowpipe and
formed into a bubble, which is manipulated into the desired finished shape.
The LaChausees design and create each piece
individually, using combinations of transparent and opaque colors with clear
crystal.
When completed, they sign and date each piece.
The LaChausees began working in glass in 1981
and established their own studio on a remote island off the coast of Seattle in
1988.
Joi earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in
Ceramics from the University of Colorado, then studied Glass at the Appalachian
Center for Crafts. Both she and Dan studied Glass at the Pratt Art Center and
the Pilchuck Glass School.
Their works have been shown at major galleries
and museums throughout the United States and in Germany, and are included in
numerous public and private collections.
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