Page 16 - glass-section-23

use all the tools and equipment, chemi-
cals, and even gunpowder we could find
to experiment with. The fact that my
brothers and I are alive at all is miracu-
lous.” Exploring how things interact to
cause a reaction became the foundation
for so much of Simpson’s work. It
became ingrained in his psyche.
What his informed curiosity also
gave Simpson was control. Control over
what he used, what he built, and what
goes into each piece. He is still trying to
replicate a formula for his Corona Glass
photo: Judy Gonyeau
that he first developed in the 1980s. At 100-lb. Megaplanet on
The “Roller Thing,” this point he is nudging the proportions display at Corning Museum
a hand-made tool used to press of metallic oxides in the mix by the of Glass, 2006, 13” dia.
glass and “get the bubbles out” smallest amounts, hoping the next for- photo: Sue Reed
with an antique turning wheel mula produces a proper reincarnation of
pulled from the ground.
the original. I saw a piece of paper with
The availability of his objects is carefully curated at his studio. And
some values and numbers on it. Here’s how Simpson describes it: perhaps the best place to view his work is at his website, www.josh
“That is the Corona Glass formula that I’m currently experimenting
with. It’s formula 3940 [i.e. the 3940th formula for the Corona glass] simpsonglass.com. Here, you can almost fully experience the excitement
of exploration when you see any of his work. The flow and color and
and it’s in the furnace right now. But here is formula number 3938 details draw you in. The best way to see and handle and purchase his
from a few days ago. This trial turned out work is to visit his nearby Salmon Falls Gallery in Shelbourne Falls,
to be predominantly red. Sand, silver, MA. To feel the coolness of the glass, its weight, and truly see the detail
oxide, nickel, and feldspar … all those is worth the trip alone.
minerals and metals combine in unpre-

dictable, delightful ways, and sometimes
create amazing colors.” “Some people like to
say that I’m a glass
Talk About Color! chemist, but I’m not.
Over the 50 years Josh Simpson
has been making his glass objects, I’m an a glass
there there is glass from his past placed in every one of his pieces. The Alchemist.
inventory of cane glass used to create the breathtaking variety of color
and form within his Planets comes from a multi-decade, carefully curat- I don’t really know all
ed inventory. On any given day, Simpson can add cane glass segments of the details of
he created 30 years ago as a part of his current project.
“I have a whole palette of chemistry that is
colors in my ‘quiet’ studio taking place. What I
There are literally thousands of
colors—greens and purples and do know is what works
pinks and reds—that I’m and what I’ve learned
working with right now.
“The process of pulling by trial and error over
cane is really quite involved. Inside the Studio the last lifetime.”
or
We sometimes start with a bar Where the magic happens
of densely colored glass that photo: Judy Gonyeau – Josh Simpson
I’ve gotten either from
Germany or from New
Zealand. These are colors that I At left, Josh Simpson
don’t want to create myself in
Glass prep and bulk here in my studio. holding one of his
colored glass storage “Tektites,” inspired by a
photo: Judy Gonyeau Instead, I can buy them by the tektite or meteorite given
kilo and can use just what I to him by Walter Huston.
need as I need it, and not have The metiorite “is perfect
to fill my own furnace with bright orange, for example. I can still shape crystal. This is silica and a
or twist it to make it even more interesting. … I keep all these little melange of metallic oxides
unique pieces and use them for when we’re making a series of Planets.” that hurtled through space
to lad on this earth before
Collecting Simpson humans existed. … I
Many people who collect the work of Josh Simpson are within thought it would be fun to
the New England region because Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts is try making that glass in
where he makes his home and does his work in the barn he converted Josh Simpson my furnace. I did, and it’s
into his studio. holding a Tektite this bubbly, gnarly glass.
photo: Judy Gonyeau
Simpson’s glass is part of the permanent collection at the Corning It is not meant to be
Museum of Glass, the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Museum, blown, it’s meant to furtle
the Yale University Art Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, through the universe. I
and many more museums. The list of exhibitions, from New England usually combine it with a
to the White House and beyond shows his appeal to any explorer of art. rich glass interior.”
He even had two of his own PBS specials.

14 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles