Art

Bruce St. John Maher

Posted by frykitty on July 8, 2024
Posted in: Art. Tagged: , , . Leave a Comment
All-glass necklace with spun side pieces and a prismatic center bead.

Just figured out why I’m seeing a lot of Bruce St. John Maher pieces on eBay. Turns out he died about a year ago. He was 70, so not terrible innings, but living forever would have been better.

Maher was a pioneer in glass making, inventing the kiln techniques he used to create his work. He was also a gay rights activist in the SF Bay area.

If you search for him now on eBay, you’ll find a bunch of very under-priced necklaces. They even have a bit of stained glass! Tiger-Tiger also has a bunch of pieces, at more usual prices. I am glad to have the two pieces pictured here. I don’t think I’ll buy any more, as I would just be collecting it, and his work deserves to be seen by the masses.

Glittering prismatic glass bead with an orange band on the rim.

Palissy

Posted by frykitty on September 26, 2018
Posted in: Art.

If you’ve never watched an art documentary by Waldemar Januszczak, I highly recommend them. Especially his series on epochs of art. He takes some getting used to. We started out calling him the World’s Most Emphatic Art Historian. Once we saw more, it became Wally the Angry Hobbit. With affection.

It was in his series on the Renaissance that I was introduced to Bernard Palissy.

His pottery is filled with lizards, snakes, and frogs, often molded from specimens.

The symbolism is intended to remind us we are all born of sin. Well, you know, Renaissance. He lived a long and interesting life, dying in the Bastille at the age of 80. He totally deserves a biopic. For now, we can just admire his art.