3 Spires | ART AT POINT RUSTON
Artist: Gerry Newcomb
Created: 2017
Materials: Cast Glass & Steel
Meaning: A color ‘line’ or element of frozen ‘light’ in an outdoor setting
Dimensions: 82″x6″
Gerry Newcomb first started working in clay in his late teens. He originally started his career using clay as his expressive material over 40 years ago. Eventually, dissatisfaction with the boundaries of clay, it led him to develop and expand on the idea of the ‘lost wax’ method of mold making and casting. This process brought together his experience using clay and his skill with glass. Over time he developed the processes and skills to translate clay forms into cast glass. In his current work, clay is used as an initial model material to form a slab with relief and texture. After pulling a mold from the clay, these open face molds are used to cast the glass. Color is sifted, brushed, painted or laid in the mold and clear glass fills in the rest of the mold. The resulting glass piece has one side in high relief. The other side is flat, glossy and transparent, allowing a person to view the relief through the glass. Each side presents a different way to view the piece and each reveals as well as hides elements.
He has recently begun working on a new series of forms relating to the idea of a wave and the flow of water or air. By marrying the steel with the glass, the metal becomes more malleable, emphasizing the fluidity of the glass so the two opposing materials work closely together in construction and form.
“I want the glass to look as ‘structural’ as the steel. I am drawn to the look and feel of a thicker cast glass; it is alluring. It contains aspects of a material both fluid and solid; it likens to frozen ice in its transparency, but still references its molten formation.
My work in clay and glass, early explorations, experiments, problem-solving in a complex process, which at times felt insurmountable to master, now releases me from thinking about the nuts and bolts of the technique and allows me to focus on image and idea. I continually seek out refinement of the visual imagery which I am searching for without concern about my ability to put it into glass. “
For further information on works by Point Ruston artists, purchase inquiries, or for artist submittals, contact: Buster Baba at art@pointruston.com
