AACG - Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass

Ross Richmond

Artist Statement:

The figure has always been a major theme in my work, and I am currently working on a series of pieces where I break down the human body into a basic shape as if it were draped in fabric.  This keeps the eye from focusing on the details of the anatomy and lets the viewer follow the sweeping gestural lines of the form.  The basic shape of the body along with its quiet contemplative facial features, gives these figures a calm meditative feel.

Lately the inspiration for my work has derived from art ranging from ancient Egyptian sculpture, Japanese prints and Art Nouveau graphics, which all use, or are inspired from, natural scenes and landscapes.  All of these time periods and genres are highly ornate, yet simplistic in form and composition.  Color and pattern are used to adorn the robes these figures are wearing to create imagery and convey a setting or scenery to place the figure in a natural environment for which they exist.  Imagery of blossoming flowers or trees convey growth or growing, to create the feeling of springtime bliss, awakening after the winter slumber.  Carved imagery or applied components also give bas relief and texture to an otherwise flat and smooth surface.

All of my work is blown and hot sculpted, meaning that nothing is cast or mold blown, all pieces are made by hand while hot on the pipe in the glass shop.  First I establish the main shape of the piece, then I allow the glass to cool, working it in a colder state so that I have a more “solid core” to work from.  If the piece is too hot, the shape will distort as the details are brought out.  I use a small oxygen-propane torch for all of the detail work, which allows me a greater variety of flame shapes and sizes to work with.  Heads and arms are typically solid, whereas all bodies are blown and hollow.  All colors are applied in layers of glass powders and the final piece is sandblasted and coated with a lacquer to give a satin finish.

About Ross Richmond

In sculpting realistic figures of humans and horses adorned with color and pattern, Ross Richmond demonstrates how an artist can push his medium beyond its normal boundaries. Ross has been working with glass since 1991, where he took his first glass class while studying to be an illustrator at the Cleveland Institute of Art, graduating with a BFA in Glass in 1994.  He began working with the glass master William Morris in 1997 and worked alongside him until Morris' retirement in 2007.  During his career, Ross has worked with and for several notable glass and non glass artists, including William Morris, Jane Rosen, Preston Singletary, and Dale Chihuly, who have all been mentors and inspirations throughout his artistic journey.

Click here for an artist's resume.

Also, hear Richmond interviewed on the podcast Talking Out Your Glass.

Acknowledgment of Gallery:
We are grateful to Kittrell/Riffkind Art Glass, Dallas, Texas, for providing the Artist of the Month.