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Seekers presents the work of Richard
Satava, who uses ancient techniques to create original designs in
handblown glass vases, bowls, perfume vials, paperweights and sculpture.
We have presented Rick’s work from
the earliest years of Seekers, and we always marvel at how he
continually comes up with new designs and colors, year after year.
Always beautiful and complex, his pieces are among the very finest
pieces of studio art glass being created today.
Part of what makes his work so
distinctive is his ability to combine several colors in one piece and
his innovative use of glass enamels (like those used for cloisonné‚
jewelry.) Also, he has developed an extraordinary style using his own
modern version of the ancient technique of torchworking.
He is able to achieve remarkable
detail and dimension by literally painting with the viscous silica,
creating trees, moons, flowers, leaves and other difficult to execute
design elements.
While working a piece on his blowpipe,
he uses a gas-fired torch to "paint" with colored rods of
glass that he has prepared ahead of time. With this demanding technique,
he is able to create precise images on the surface of a vase, or
suspended within thick layers of crystal.
Rick has developed his own exclusive
color formulas, and is widely known for his brilliant reds, rich blues,
metallic blacks and other distinctive hues.
Each piece is an original design,
handblown and shaped without the use of molds, from glass that Rick has
formulated himself. Pieces that withstand his high standards of quality
are then signed, dated, numbered and registered at his studio.
His Harvest Moon Series is an
exceptionally appealing, signature series for Rick, featuring a tree
complete with textured bark framing a full moon. This continually
evolving series is perhaps the most outstanding vase design by this
talented artist and is recognized by glass collectors throughout the
world.
The natural splendor of trees is also
the theme for his Shasta Series of vases, which depicts mountainous
forests in silhouette.
We literally cannot get enough of
Rick’s realistic Jellyfish Series of sculptures to satisfy our
collectors each year. Within each piece he creates a realistic image of
a jellyfish, complete with diaphanous body, flowing tendrils and
glistening highlights, seemingly suspended in solid crystal.
His Floral Series of vases is
breathtaking. Rick has evolved a distinctive style based primarily on
natural and organic forms, depicting flowers and related subjects in a
very lifelike fashion. Each piece is like a three-dimensional still
life, painted in molten glass. Currently, this series includes his
original interpretations of Iris, Crocus, Rock Rose, Lilies and Chili
Peppers.
For his Petroglyph Series of vases,
paperweights and small sculptures, he draws inspiration from ancient
cave drawings found in France, Spain, North Africa, New Mexico and
California. He has developed his own method of reproducing these glyphs,
using powdered glass enamels, and routinely combines images from
different times and places.
Rick began blowing glass in 1968 as a
high school student in Pacifica, California. He subsequently studied art
and glassblowing at the College of San Mateo and earned his bachelor of
fine arts degree in glass from California State University, Chico. He
established his own northern California glass studio in 1977.
His work is included in numerous
public and private collections throughout the world and has been
displayed at major museums, including The Smithsonian’s Renwick
Gallery in Washington, D.C. |
