Artist Jennifer Brown has work currently on display at both the Field Gallery and Martha’s Vineyard Glassworks, marking a first-time collaboration for the two West Tisbury galleries.
Ms. Brown is a longtime textile artist who has displayed work at the Field Gallery for six years. But this summer she began a residency at Martha’s Vineyard Glassworks, translating her 2-D art into 3-D glass pieces.
“Being able to see how they speak to each other and translate one another has been really rewarding,” she said of the experience.
Jennifer Pillsworth, director of the Field Gallery, said it is a rare opportunity for a non-glass artist to experiment with the artform.
“Glass is a medium that is so hard. It’s complicated to master and it takes a long time. A lot of artists don’t ever get to work in that medium, and I’m just so excited,” Ms. Pillsworth said.
Will Sideman, studio manager at Martha’s Vineyard Glassworks, said he can already see Ms. Brown’s signature style in the glass pieces, and how her presence is affecting other artists there.
“When someone like Jen comes in who doesn’t have a deep knowledge of the processes, her approach is much different. It gets us outside of our box and to explore things in a different way,” he said.
Ms. Brown is not doing the glassblowing herself, but she is collaborating with the seasoned glass artists to bring her visions to life. She said producing her creative ideas in a new form has been a great learning experience.
“The goal isn’t the final product. It’s really about the exploration and the creativity,” Ms. Brown said. “It’s a lot of exploration both with my ideas and with them of how they can produce it technically.”
One of the ways they have translated her textile art to glass is by mimicking both the layers and the patterns of the fabric. For example, to create one polka dot pattern that Ms. Brown was interested in, they made thin rods of patterned glass called cane to create unique lines in the mix. They also used a Swedish technique called Graal to replicate the layers in Ms. Brown’s textile art. It involves putting an opaque layer of glass on top of translucent glass and then using a sandblaster to reveal what’s underneath.
Ms. Brown said they let her experiment with the sandblaster.
“My arms are sore from holding the trigger,” she joked.
Similar to textile layering, Ms. Brown said the element of creative mystery is a regular feature when working with glass.
“It’s these fun surprises along the way where when it’s hot, you don’t know what the glass is going to look like when it’s cold.”
Ms. Brown said she loves keeping her art connected to the Vineyard.
“All of my work is informed by the place. It’s home, and I just love the natural landscape here, so that’s what I pour into my work,” she said.
Jennifer Brown’s work will be on display at both the Field Gallery and at Martha’s Vineyard Glassworks. There will also be an artist’s reception at the Field Gallery on Saturday, August 29.
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