August 09, 2007

artist statement

Kristen Marie Weber

I am an emerging artist who embeds figurative and animistic imagery into kilnformed glass. I am drawn to glass because of its ability to embody so many contradictions that make up physical humanness, self-concept and soul: Completely rigid and immovable versus malleable and freely flowing in different conditions; fragile and delicate versus well-tempered and remarkably durable; able to transmit incredible light or obscure it completely. 

Seeking balance forms a constant thread throughout my work. It is woven throughout most human lives in one aspect or another, just as it is woven into the exquisite relationships between all living entities and their external environment. Capturing a fleeting glimpse of that shifting equilibrium is a strong motivation behind my choice of materials, form, and imagery. The pieces' ice-like texture and fragility reflect the tenuous nature of the state of being. They offer a chance to contemplate the intricate balance of the world within and about us. Throughout my work, various vessel and visual forms serve as a metaphor for “body as soul or spirit holder.” The vessels hold, nest and sometimes obscure what is above or below. Layers of interactions and conditions behind relationships are reflected in layered vessels, color, and texture. 

Much of the resulting work is as delicate as insects' wings or a thin layer of ice separating winter air and dark, frigid water. Many of the pieces can be held, but given their delicate nature, force the viewer to cradle the piece in his or her hands – much the same way one would cradle a bird, a butterfly, a shard of ice, or a bit of someone else’s soul that has been revealed for safe keeping.

Posted by KMWeber at 23:42:10 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

August 08, 2007

series descriptions & image lists

Please click on thumbnails for larger images.
Pricing available upon request: kmw@weber.name 

 

anatomy of blood and bones

2004 – present

  thirty-six pieces of nightburial sequencethree bones (to pick)

  ascention (detail)three aspects of the wholea long winter

  all things equalcareful observationto hold

  offering Ioffering IIsketch for offering I and II

Thirty-six Pieces of Night 2006
Burial Sequence
     (work in progress) 2006 –
Three Bones (to pick) 2006
Ascension (detail of work in
     progress) 2005 –
Three Aspects of the Whole 2005
A Long Winter 2005
All Things Equal 2005
Careful Observation 2005
To Hold 2004
Offering I 2004
Offering II 2004
Closely Held 2004
Sketch for Offering I and II 2004

Please click on thumbnails
above for larger images

 In 2004 I began experimenting with thinner vessels composed entirely of glass powders and frit. The delicacy of the resulting pieces was perfectly suited to my growing fascination with snow and ice and maintaining our place above the frozen veil of nothingness. The delicacy also mirrored the fragile status I sensed that I and others I love maintained in this world.

The Anatomy of Blood and Bones series evolved out of trying to understand and manage a chronic hematological malignancy on a personal basis and witnessing those I love deal with similar trials over time. Bones, blood, and hearts were among the shared concerns in my small circle. At times the human form is stripped to bare bones revealing the sturdy structure that can betray but still allow us to keep moving through life’s strong currents. Wing structures grew more visually bone- and knifelike; serving as protective soul carriers. In time, aspects of anatomy came to represent the people I knew, our souls, and conditions affecting our lives. The ability of a single part to function as a proxy for the whole was personally revealing as well as opening up additional understandings into the work. It would be hard not to acknowledge that many symbolic and iconographic aspects of human anatomy are part of a powerful, cross-cultural language; particularly blood, bones and the human heart.

Being able to comprehend and graciously accept Death’s inevitable arrival is often slow in coming to any of us. Regardless of whether it occurs due to physical calamity or the proverbial bus, flinching away from contemplating death is all too common and very American. Acknowledging death’s place in life is the backbone for this collection of works.

 

 

 

 

flying souls | animals and insects

2005 – present

  northwoods trioaugust afternoon

  pollen dancebluejay's dark thoughtswinter hunters

  mid-august wooly bearnine winter songsmorning warbler

 

Dark Night for Little Birds 2007
 Northwoods Trio 2006
 August Afternoon 2006
     2006 Pilchuck on Display:
    An Exhibition of International
    Glass Art & Pilchuck School
    28th Annual Auction;
    live section (juried)
 Pollen Dance 2005- 2006
    Minnesota State Fair
    Fine Arts Exhibition;
    2nd in Ceramics/Glass
    category (juried)
 Bluejay's Dark Thoughts 2005
Winter Hunters 2005
Mid-August Wooly Bear 2005
Nine Winter Songs 2005
    2005 Pilchuck on Display:
    An Exhibition of International
    Glass Art & Pilchuck School
    27th Annual Auction;
    silent section (juried)
Morning Warbler 2005

Please click on thumbnails
above for larger images

 For roughly a decade, wings have visually carried the significance of soul throughout my work, the essence of what keeps humans aloft. As a result, I found myself looking at a considerable number of birds and insects trying to understand the essence of wings and the ability to rise above the earth. What would carry a soul without simply pasting “angel wings” on a figure?

The more I learned about these air-borne beings, the more it seemed they were not too dissimilar from humans in behavior or in basic needs: Their ancient, ingrained behaviors match so many human rituals. Their rich, beautiful color and pattern signals the other to come in close or stay away. Their sweet songs mark the edges of brutally enforced territorial boundaries or the promise of nestlings. Robert Browning wrote, “What are the voices of birds, but words, /Our words, only some much more sweet?”

I have come to regard these vessels as actual spaces for a quiet kind of connection with the creatures depicted. The soft luminance quietly pays heed to the life force of the small being nested within the glass. To create one or to hold one is to think about something outside of humankind and to consider our relationship to that living being. Each work is a physical manifestation of contemplating humans' relationship to the collected force of Nature.

 

 

 

 

dear bones

2005 – present

  requiem (detail)requiem

  deer bonesdeer bones (detail)

Requiem (prototype) 2006 -
Deer Bones 2006

Please click on thumbnails
above for larger images

 This is a very new body of work based upon photographs taken in 2005. My husband and I spent a long weekend at a northern Minnesota cabin where deer carcasses had been left to draw the local wolf pack in closer for “photo opportunities.” I was captivated by the bones as I was by the ice.

The ice struck me as such a perfect metaphor for maintaining a fragile balance. This was all brought into sharp focus during my experiences when treading on the partially frozen pond. Transfixed by how much the surface looked and felt like glass, I kept moving towards the center of the pond where the ice shifts to a deeper hue. When the surface suddenly shuddered, I wondered if it I had finally reached the edge of late winter ice where it easily breaks: the precarious state between remaining above the crystalline veil and breaking through it into the dark, unforgiving water below. The experience was simultaneously exhilarating and utterly terrifying; an instance when everything teetered on the brink.

We returned the following winter, and seeking the same communion with the glass-like surface, I ventured out on to the frozen crust over the same body of water. The ice did more than shudder. I found myself immersed in deep muck, mind-numbingly cold water, and ice shards, and wondering whether or not I would be able to pull myself out above it all and thinking, “ What a horribly apt metaphor for the past few years.”

I am curious to see where this work will lead conceptually and aesthetically.

 

 

 

anima | falling from grace

1997 – 2003

  I have: a heart, awareness, dreams that burnconnectionsholding heart

  figure study icarus sleeping: reposeicarus sleeping: anima

  icarus sleeping: baredsuspended fallphoenix bowl

  hanging heartthree blowsexposed red fall

  resurrection vesselphoenix vessel

I Have: A Heart, Awareness,
          Dreams that Burn 2003
Connections 2002-2003
Holding Heart 2002-2003
Figure Study 2002
Icarus Sleeping: Repose 2002
Icarus Sleeping: Anima 2002
Icarus Sleeping: Bared 2002
Suspended Fall 2002
Phoenix Bowl 2001-2002
Hanging Heart 2002
Three Blows 2002
Exposed Red Fall 2002
Resurrection Vessel 1997
Phoenix Vessel 1997

Please click on thumbnails
above for larger images

 

 The Falling from Grace series reflects upon various states of being during the search for balance, self, and soul. I believe that if you look closely at any of our lives, you can find a story of falling from grace and a difficult struggle to ascend to a new sense of balance and self. The fall and ascension can be physical, emotional, or spiritual in nature, brought on by our own actions or circumstances completely outside of our control. But it is usually there, ranging from an event that lasts less than second to an all-consuming nightmare.

In this series, wings visually carry the significance of soul; the essence of what keeps humans aloft. Elemental colors mirror choices, contrasts, and ends of the spectrum that each of us must continually bring into balance. Various vessel and visual forms serve as a metaphor for “body as soul or spirit holder.” Each piece reflects different aspects of the journey from the point we lose our wings and fall out of the world as we know it, to the moment we emerge in a newly forged state of awareness. How the psyche or soul is contained or displayed to the outside world during this journey becomes an interesting question in its own right: Is it hidden, cradled, or openly offered?

The intricate relationship between body and soul in the course of a human life is also a driving force behind my work. Separating a visual discussion of the soul and self from the body addresses only a portion of whom we are. The human figure and anatomy is the most natural, direct means of capturing a fall from grace -- the kind that can strip the psyche to bare bones as well as expose the light within. Glass is uniquely able to convey and carry these very human activities; our life-long attempt to achieve “beautiful balance.”

 

 

Posted by KMWeber at 23:40:43 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

August 07, 2007

resume

Kristen Marie Weber

Visual Artist

two- and three-dimensional kiln-formed glass

 

 

 

kmw@weber.name
http://kmwglass.blog.com/

 

 

 

 

Artist Statement

 

I am an artist who embeds figurative and animistic imagery into kiln-formed glass. In my work, various vessel and visual forms serve as a metaphor for “body as soul or spirit holder” while the pieces' ice-like texture and fragility reflect the tenuous nature of our state of being. The intricate relationship between body and soul in the course of a human life is a driving force behind my choice of imagery, form and medium.

 

 

Education

 

Montana State University 1982
Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts; Printmaking
additional studies in philosophy & biological sciences

 

 

 

University of Wisconsin , River Falls 1996-1997 additional studies in Fine Art
 medium: hot glass
 non-degree/special student status

 

 

Galleries

Es Posible Gallery; Scottsdale, AZ , 2003 – present 

Tamarack Gallery; Stillwater, MN and Naples, FL ,
2003 – 2006 

 

 

Awards and Exhibitions

August Afternoon -- 2006 Pilchuck on Display: An Exhibition of International Glass Art & Pilchuck Glass School 28th Auction (live auction) -- juried

Pollen Dance -- Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts
Exhibition; 2nd in Ceramics/Glass category -- juried

Nine Winter Songs -- 2005 Pilchuck on Display: An Exhibition of International Glass Art & Pilchuck Glass School 27th Auction (silent auction) -- juried

Studio Award in Glass UWRF 1996

 

 

Related Experience

 

Working in stained, kiln-formed, and blown glass mediums since 1993
 Human-computer interface specialist  1992-2002
 Book design 1983-1993
Posted by KMWeber at 22:31:54 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

October 08, 2006

biography

Kristen Marie Weber                                                                              

visual artist | two- and three dimensional kiln-formed glass                        heart wafer

When her favorite high-school art instructor told Kristen Weber she had the natural disposition of a glass artist, she had no idea that creating with glass would develop into a consuming passion two decades later. The path to glass was paved by a continual interest in visual arts and design-related work. Weber studied printmaking with Fran Noel at Montana State University; the only accredited art school in the Rocky Mountains in the late 70s. While attending Montana State University, Weber pursued additional studies in philosophy and biological sciences reflecting a life-long fascination with the intricacies of living creatures and how they interact with, and relate to the world around them. During this time, she was accepted at Syracuse University College of Visual and Performing Arts in Printmaking.  The transition from printing inks to her particular style of kiln-formed glass was a natural given similar attention to layering of color and imagery, transparency manipulation, and processes that require attentiveness and patience.

Weber began working with glass as a medium in 1993 through independent studies in stained glass and kiln-formed glass. She proceeded to increase her working knowledge of kiln-formed and stained glass techniques throughout her years in publishing and human-computer interface design of custom software applications. The opportunity to study studio glass with Jim Engebretson at University of Wisconsin, River Falls further opened up the world of blown, hot cast, and kiln-formed glass. She is currently pursuing a career in visual arts working with glass; a medium that holds her rapt with its possibilities and similarities to human physical nature, self-concept and soul.
Posted by KMWeber at 22:16:56 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

additional information

Information about specific processes I use:
 My kiln-formed glass is possible given the medium's ancient past as well as relatively recent advances in glass science. My work draws from both ends of that spectrum. Each piece is carefully executed using processes that are similar to both Tibetan sand painting and traditional glass painting. I begin by creating a frit wafer (patisserie de verre) with the desired image.          

To create the wafer, dry glass powders and sand-like frits are meticulously placed and shaped into color layers without disturbing the underlying powders. Like traditional glass painting, the image is executed in reverse as a mirror image. In essence, I am always working from “behind the canvas” and in reverse. The layers of glass powder and frit are then fired in a glass kiln until the particles just begin to stick together. The resulting frit wafer looks very much like a lacey sugar confection and is equally as delicate. No two wafers are exactly alike. The frit wafer is carefully cleaned and placed upon compatible glass chosen for the background or base of the piece. Once fully fused together, the glass with the patisserie de verre image can be further shaped by slumping using a ceramic or refractory mold.           

Pieces usually require at least three to five separate firings depending upon the imagery and techniques chosen. Coldworking follows, and may include: sandblasting, grinding, hand finishing and polishing. The piece is then complete.


 A personal observation:
Over the past two years, I have moved towards a visual form which leaves the frit wafers standing on their own in a two-dimensional presentation or formed into larger three-dimensional shapes without an underlying base. Removing the sturdier, solid glass from the visual and physical equation has left me with delicate renderings of primary concepts. This has been remarkably freeing in many ways. Depending upon how each is executed, pieces have the feel of ice and snow; others look and feel like lava or rough paper or eggshells; others appear leathery. Ultimately, they are works of glass. The contrasts and seeming incongruity piques my interest and my viewers' curiosity provoking an interesting interaction with the work. 
Posted by KMWeber at 22:12:47 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

January 05, 2006

copyright notice

Copyright (c) 1997-2007. All images on this website (kmw_glass.com) are protected by copyright law and international treaties. You may not copy, distribute, sell, redesign, take credit for or use any material owned and created by Kristen M. Weber.

Please enjoy my work, but please respect the copyright.

Posted by KMWeber at 18:19:06 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |