Jason Curtis' Hand-Blown Art Glass @ Easton Public Library

The exhibition includes a series of functional vases and drinking glasses as well as pieces representing a study in cane coloring, which is when color is used in linear patterns. The inspiration for cane coloring came when Curtis observed another glass blower working with a large mass of glass that he quickly pulled into very long strands of glass called the cane. “This experience allowed me to discover the fiber-optic quality of glass and gave me the ability to use glass in a linear, color function.”

Curtis, an Easton native, has been creating and exhibiting his blown glass for audiences in Connecticut for two decades. Growing up in Easton, Curtis discovered the ancient art of glass blowing while in high school. In the summers, he took classes at Bucks Rock Camp, New Milford, CT and continued his studies at Rochester Institute of Technology’s The School of the American Craftsmen.

Now living in New Hope, PA, Curtis works in the hot shoppe at Bucks Community College and has devoted his career to perfecting the ancient art of glass blowing, which is his artistic passion. He has many collectors of his glass work who will be able to see his current exhibit of new pieces.

Curtis and his glass partner, Dan Burnstein, use the most primitive of tools — a long metal pipe, a wooden paddle, a bucket of water and wet newspaper, and a metal table with a seat. Four basic elements of the earth - air, water, sand, and fire – are combined to form the glass.

The glass is worked at temperatures so hot that artists prefer not to create it during the summer months. The furnace burns at 2,000 degrees and raises the temperature to 100 degrees in the studio. It is intriguing to watch the glass being shaped by the artisan and partner as they build the object layer by layer with each immersion into the “glory hole,” a reheating chamber.

Curtis would like to invite the community to come to the Library, see his display through early October, and contact him with comments. All pieces are available for sale and the artist can be reached by email at jcglass@gmail.com or at 203-954-8038. The exhibit is available during the Library’s public hours – M 10-5, T & W 10 – 8, Th 10 – 6, F 10 – 5 and Sat 10 – 3. There is ample parking in the library parking lot, located at the corner of Morehouse and Center Roads. For directions to the library, please visit our website www.eastonlibrary.org.

For more information about programs at the Easton Public Library, sign up for our email newsletter at http://tinyurl.com/EPLeNews; find us on Facebook at “Easton Public Library;” or call (203) 261-0134.