New twists to old tricks of an even older trade

BOBBIE ALLEN

The cultural evolution of glass coincides exactly with the evolution

of human culture. Its earliest examples serendipitously occur

alongside the first examples of architecture, literature, and music

-- some dating back to 3500 BC. And although modern art glass has

grown to take full advantage of such technological developments as

electric heating elements and gas furnaces, the blown vase that you

hold in your hand contains within it the same basic methods used by

glass blowers for a couple of thousand years.

Similarly, the methods of teaching glass craft are much the same,

following the medieval practice of apprenticeship (with better hours

and pay) passed from generation to generation. The recent revival of

art glass in the West, particularly in the United States, can be

attributed to two things: the tenacity of the apprentice system,

remaining virtually unchanged for hundreds of years, and the

innovations of a first and second generation of glass artists, such

as German artist Erwin Eisch and his apprentice, Laguna glass artist

John Barber.

I recently stopped by Barber’s showroom and workshop, open daily

to visitors. It’s a rough-and-tumble space (21062 Laguna Canyon Road)

where every glance reveals a beautifully colored work of glass: some

are stuck in planters, some are sitting on the tables or scattered on

the ground.

Among this clutter of a creative mind, Barber described his

apprenticeship to Eisch, some 33 years ago, as “a pretty

untraditional way of coming to glass.” Eisch is an innovator. We’re

not talking about the thin, brittle and mindless perfume bottles

produced in Bavaria for tourists. Barber tells of watching Eisch pour

glass into molds of telephones or boots. Eisch, like many modernist

artists of his time, stretched technique to its limits to create the

“New.” “It was the best education I could have had,” Barber said with

reverence.

Now Barber himself has reached a point in his career where he has

become the master, possessing what he calls a “dictionary of

techniques” he considers his own. He has started his own apprentice

program, beginning with his nephew seven years ago. Now, Barber keeps

three apprentices in his employ on a rotating basis, each with a

three-year commitment. At the end of the day, they gain access to

supplies and equipment to make their own pieces.

Around six years ago, coinciding with the appearance of his nephew

at the studio, Barber says he looked at the young man’s work and was

“surprised to find it has a style.” People were telling him they

recognized this or that piece out in the world. At first intimidated

by the thought of apprentices in his studio, now he welcomes them.

“They respect the opportunity,” he says, and adds, “It’s your

apprentices that make you famous.”

Fearlessness also helps. The glass mural Barber created for the

front drive of the Montage Resort and Spa was conceived before he

knew it was possible to create it.

For the realization of “Eternal Sunset” for the Montage, Barber

boldly choose to use pate de verre, a method of casting glass he had

been fascinated by 20 years before. He chose it because he wanted to

“bring glass in a new way to the public.”

A new way, and an old way. Pate de verre is perhaps the most

ancient method of working with glass, used first by the ancient

Egyptians. It was revived in the last century in France, where it

picked up its modern name. All the same, it was used almost

exclusively for small pieces, such as jewelry or vases. Barber’s

vision involved a large mural, 32 feet long. The finished product is

an impressionistic capturing of the unobstructed sunset you might

have seen from the cliff top before it was developed. It is a dream

of what was.

Sixteen panels conjoined to form a gentle “S” curve, framed in a

rough stone box. The best time to view the piece is at sunset, when

several things are happening at once. The fading evening light

changes the muted colors found in the mural. It is predominantly a

range of yellows, moving from topaz to amber to lemon; but it is

infused with iridescent greens and browns (in the cypress-like

trees), along with the silvers and pinks of the sunset it has

captured in glass. This was the great benefit of pate de verre for

Barber: precise placement of color. Each object in the mural is in

bas-relief, each with its own texture. Even the horizon line is

visible as a gentle variation in texture.

Passing moments of light reveal different aspects of the glass.

Back lighting forces the trees into stronger silhouette, and the

pink-gray slopes of Catalina emerge. Oncoming headlights make a

treetop shine like peacock feathers. It is unabashedly romantic and

glorious.

Barber traveled to Portland to find a glassmaker who could produce

the pure colors he needed. From there, he found a company that could

manufacture an oven the size he needed, with precise temperature

controls. The result is a totally original artistic statement built

on centuries of tradition that both complements and embellishes its

setting.

The walls of Barber’s showroom are hung with examples of his

growing stylistic vision. Hanging vases fill one window, each with a

variation on its basic theme: it may be turquoise or rose or emerald

green, each with different trim or handles. This is the everyday item

made beautiful: the speckled golden glass that holds your drink of

water is part of an ancient craft, what Barber calls “tabletop work.”

Barber believes that Laguna is becoming known for its glassmaking.

He is certainly partially responsible for this, in the same way Dale

Chihuly’s more academic work has made Washington state a glass

center. Barber, however, credits the atmosphere created in Laguna

Canyon itself for this, a place where he can live, create and show

his work all in the same place. Young people are “attracted by the

example,” he says, thus creating new opportunities for expanding the

craft.

If you go to his studio, you may see him at work with his

apprentices, transmuting molten elements into semi-solid forms in a

mixture of brawn, courage and vision. You can even take it home with

you.

* BOBBIE ALLEN is a poet and writer who has taught art theory and

criticism. She currently teaches at Saddleback College.