RECYCLED SHAPES MAKE NEW BEAUTIFUL SHAPES NOW

AMBER COWAN

Shapes from the past come together to form astonishing new shapes in sculptures by glass artist Amber Cowan.

Recycling reshapes. Always. Cowan turns recycling into an artform, taking fragments of vintage pressed glass and merging them together to construct complex new forms, creating abstract sculptures.

Pressed glass was popular in the ….. It was a relatively inexpensive way of mass producing tableware. It is made out of molten glass that is pressed into molds. Once cheap, now more prized as collector's’ items, pressed glass is a favorite at flea markets.

Cowan uses found pieces of pressed glass and creates 3D collages, fusing them together into new forms.

Each of Cowan’s piece is a conglomeration of history, as each component piece of pressed glass marks references a time when US glassware manufacturing was a booming business.

Cowan’s sculptures are a combination of reminiscence and future focus. The new composite shapes tell stories, past and present.

They are made up of forgotten objects, discarded, with no perceived value, made from materials from American factories that no longer exist.

Cowan first became interested in glass when she was 7 years old, when she found a set of frosted pink elephant swizzle sticks in her parents’ basement cabinet. She later studied ceramics, but soon became hooked on glass.

The sculptures are incredibly intricate. They are ornate abstractions of sentimental detritus. The glass used is primarily milk glass, a relatively inexpensive form popular during the Depression.

When observed closely, one can pick out tiny details, identifying shapes of leaves, flowers, and other ornament. Individually and collectively, they tell stories.

Cowan lives and works in Philadelphia, where she also teaches at the Tyler School of Art. She’s also taught at the famed Pilchuck Glass School, in Seattle. 

Cowan has won numerous awards for her glass work. You can find her pieces at the Corning Museum of Glass, the Museum of Craft & Design, the Shanghai Museum of Glass, among others.

Cowan is represented by Heller Gallery in New York City. You can see more of Cowan’s work on her website and Instagram.

Read more about Beautiful Shapes in  Beautiful Shapes Within Shapes Now, The Beauty of Shape Shifting Murmurations Now, Beautiful Delicious Now, Incredible Ethereal Shapes Channel Fantastical Sea Creatures, The Shapes of Hanoi From Above are Beautiful Now, The Beautiful Character of Shape Now and Incredible Ethereal Shapes Channel Fantastical Sea Creatures.

And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact Daily Fix posts.

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IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: by Amber Cowan. Sky Blue, Cobalt and Slag.”
2. Image: by Amber Cowan. “Homeland.”
3. Image: by Amber Cowan. “Rouge Flambe.”
4. Image: by Amber Cowan. “Chocolate with Thorny Vines.”
5. Image: by Amber Cowan. “River Green and Mint.”
6. Image: Courtesy of Amber Cowan. “Amber Cowan on a pile of cullet in West Virginia.”
7. Image: by Amber Cowan. “Grotta.”
8. Image: by Amber Cowan. "Goddess in Sky."
9. Image: Courtesy of Amber Cowan. Amber Cowan.
10. Image: by Amber Cowan. “Peach Blow Away.”
11. Image: by Amber Cowan. “White Swan Theater.”
12. Image: by Amber Cowan. “River Green and Mint.”
13. Image: by BN App - Download now!
14. Image: by Amber Cowan. “Rouge Flambe.”