Bobbi Vischi

When I moved to Colorado, I continued my career as a kiln glass artist, which I began in the mid-1990s. My medium is sculptural glass, which is layered, shaped, textured, and kiln-fired. In my first career, I was a dancer and choreographer, and I have found that movement is a constant in my glass art as well. Whether I am making sculptural, functional, or architectural glass art, the major components of my work continue to be shapes and forms that embody movement.

My recent sculptures and vessels are also expressions of ongoing life experiences and changes, which include my move out West, the departure of my children into adulthood, the death of a good friend, and the bonds of new friendships. My reflections on these changes have resulted in deep bas-relief art, with tactile shapes in iridized glass and sensual textures that almost demand to be felt. I construct these deep reliefs by layering many sheets of glass on top of one another and then firing them, often multiple times, to shape them into dynamic forms that seem to ripple and move. To me, this reflects the layering of losses and opportunities in life, with the kinds of freshness and revival that life can bring, as it leaves and loses and adds. It also suggests the layering of experiences that we hope will become part of a new whole.