Robert Carlson’s Glass Mind

Robert Carlson is an internationally-renowned glass artist and a master not in disguise.  Bob lives his life as an artist, from his work to his art collections and the uniqueness of his home, to the way he parties and likes his martinis.  I had the opportunity to photograph Bob while he was an artist-in-residence at the Museum of Glass Hot Shop in Tacoma, Washington, where he came up with and devised his newest creations from an imagination wild. Bob is pictured up, sketching his latest invention, pulling from depths of his mind something real.

On-hand apprentices assisted Bob throughout the week-long residency. Typically, after the glass is blown and cooled, he’ll spends months with the pieces, studying their forms and subtle messages found within shapes and processes.  Next he employs a reverse-painting technique using mirrors to create the imagery. These will appear on the back side of the glass structures, which take on a whole new dimension while viewing through the various refractions of glass.

However, after observing the unusual orbs and their phalangeal crystals, Bob decided otherwise and kept the mirrors on their walls and the pigments in their cans. The work was completely new and glorious in their own form. They are both animalistic and alien. They explore the connection of sexuality and misplaced possession. The glass art can be placed on one side and quickly flipped to be placed on a new set of legs, changing the viewers understanding of what is and what can be. These pieces are works of a genius, derived from a life undisguised from beauty itself.