Fine Glass Art with Hugh Wallace Hultman's Profile
Bio
It's common for me to work in a variety of media, including Weaving, Painting, Metal, Wood, Fused Glass, Stained Glass and Photography. I've spent a number of years doing digital art and creating photo techniques used for the development of Internet applications. In my art creations I mix logic, math, data movement, and pixels of light to create design with function. Conveying the message with taste, ease, and to the point.
The medium I use at any moment is a vehicle of variation and exploration. My philosophy and aesthetics are the fibers that run through them, connecting and expanding. The creative process, this dialog between self and medium, evolves into the visual. Their evolution ever changing and broadening to encompass new avenues of thought and creativity. I try to capture a moment and condense the elements of my work to their essence: to a sense of space that has a concentration of spirit, character and physical presence. I am particularly interested in variations, patterns and lines, constantly searching for the perfect curve.
Currently I am taken with the design and creation of cold, warm, and hot glass. Its interplay with light, texture; its transparent and opaque qualities. I am endlessly fascinated with layering colors and seeing the unexpected surprises. I see the unique context of each project as a canvas for bringing beauty into a space. My fused glass artwork is infused with spirit. Magic is the only way to describe what it’s like for me to fuse glass.
Fusion is complex, and contains a level of surprise from beginning the initial layout to the end product of a fused piece. Art glass comes in a variety of colors and patterns. Colors can change during firing because of chemical reactions. Fusing results will differ depending on firing temperatures: low heats provide more texture, while high heats smooth or round out the surface. If the art glass is fired too fast or cooled too quickly, the glass may break or crack into pieces. Once fired, pieces can be slumped into molds to yield specific shapes or can be free form based on design. There are infinite possibilities when fusing.
I start the process with putting together the design and setting it into the kiln. In order to properly anneal the glass it needs to be heated at certain rates and cooled at certain rates and times. During this time I have to keep myself from opening the kiln to see how it looks. The kiln can be opened reletivily safely above 1,000 degrees F. but not under that. Every time I fire I feel like a kid on my birthday waiting to open the big gift!
