NANCY BLAIR

I am a materials handler. Earth. Water. Fire. Air. I want my hands and emotions deep into the stuff of matter. I use whatever works to communicate what I need to say. I’ve been working with clay since I was a teenager. The first ceramics class I took used molds and we painted glaze on the pieces. I was doing photography at the time and using molds seemed akin to having a negative and producing the same thing over and over. The repetitive process fascinated me; making the same thing different all the time.

 

I began working in glass at Pilchuck Glass School in 1997. I was invited to be a teaching assistant for a kiln casting workshop because of my experience with mold making. Working in clay or wax and transforming an object into glass seemed alchemical, magical and shamanic. I found myself drawn to the hot shop and the roar of the furnace. I had to get closer to the fire, the hearth, the ultimate element of transformation. I started hot casting, ladling molten glass into sand molds. I love the immediacy of the process. It captured my spirit. I ended up teaching hot casting at Pilchuck for three summer sessions.

 

Working with clay and glass is a demanding and unpredictable process; part magic, part science. It suits my nature.