Glass art takes Alberta Craft Council by storm

By Vickie Laliotis

EDMONTON — Art often imitates life, but when it comes to Natural Flow, a contemporary glass art exhibition at the Alberta Craft Council, art imitates nature.

This Alberta-based exhibit highlights the shapes and forms found in the natural world, drawing parallels between the flow of the medium and the organic, natural forms it depicts.

Yet the reason for showcasing hot glass — a medium whose popularity as a contemporary art form has steadily grown in North America since the 1940s — is about more than just beautiful shapes and intricate designs.

“One of the reasons for doing this exhibition is to expose the artists and their work, but also to explain it,” said Tom McFall, the Alberta Craft Council’s executive director.

“The more comprehensible it is, the more appealing it becomes.”

Since many people are still unfamiliar with contemporary glass art and its process, McFall understands that it can be something of an acquired taste.

“Remember the first time you tasted an olive? It was really awful. Olives take a little bit of work and eventually you discover there are hundreds of olives and they’re pretty exciting,” he said.

“Well the same thing happens in most cultural activities. It gets pretty interesting the more you get to know it.”

Working with hot glass can be quite taxing in that it requires both physical and intellectual skill, which McFall says is one of the things that distinguishes it from other art forms.

“The technical, creative and physical challenge of working with hot glass is what drives the people who actually do it, and I think that translates into another level of intrigue for visitors who are attracted to exhibitions like this,” he said.

Although Alberta has a dynamic professional craft arts culture involving several hundred people, its glass artists are often better known internationally than they are domestically.

Take for instance Julia Reimer, a Canadian glass artist from southern Alberta. Despite collecting several awards for her work, such as the Canadian Clay and Glass National Glass Award for Excellence in 2008, Reimer is currently working and teaching her craft in Australia.

“I am honoured to have my work included in the exhibit because there are so few venues that show sculptural glass in Alberta,” Reimer said.

“I feel that there are many artists working in glass in Alberta that are making amazing things, and this show is a small reflection of our beautiful environment and the art it inspires.”

Exhibits like Natural Flow aim to highlight the skills and accomplishments of local artists, providing a platform from which to share their vision and individuality.

“It’s particularly exciting and rewarding to be working on an exhibit like Natural Flow because it brings together this body of excellence rather than just the individual artist,” McFall said.

The exhibit showcases the work of Keith Walker, Natali Rodrigues, Tyler Rock, Deanna Macaulay, Marty Kaufman and Jeff Holmwood, to name a few.

“For all the artists in the exhibit, they are the only ones who can do the work they do, so when you start understanding the originality of it and the virtuosity that goes into making these things, it just becomes that much more thrilling.”

Natural Flow will be held in the Alberta Craft Council’s feature gallery, located at 10186 106 St., from now until Dec. 24.