Tracy Glover's Translucent Poetry
Tracy Glover's exuberant glass lighting and decorative accessories are visually arresting: refined, glamorous, with a deliberately controlled color palette that elegantly functions in a universe of spaces. Her skill is first as expert craftsman, using time-honored Venetian glassblowing techniques. Then there is her color sense: playful, lighthearted, fresh; marrying hues in triplicate for her wonderful a cane striped patterns. She delights in the physicality of the glassmaking process, and the challenge of working with such a malleable, fragile material. It's no coincidence that she is an avid oarsman, rowing daily on Narragansett Bay at sunrise. On the water, inspiration is everywhere; faceted, prismatic, transformed by the meeting of sunlight and tides.
Tracy was an architecture student at Virginia Tech when first mesmerized by a glassblower's photo in a RISD catalogue. Soon she had applied for a transfer and moved to Providence for the glass BFA that would change her life. She has honed her craft in such diverse locales as a 13th century Belgian convent's crystal factory and Dale Chihuly's renowned Pilchuck School of Glass, where she was mentored by Venetian maestri-in-residence.
The furnace burns 24 hours a day with molten glass at the ready. Colored rods, varying in thickness, are cut, fused, rolled and mouthblown in a dance of heat, urgency and vision. Every piece is made to order; Tracy is the sole designer. She and her assistants blow the glass onsite before assembling the components into finished commissioned pieces.
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