BC Glass Art Association Dinner—A Presentation by Preston Singletary
September 1, 2010
By Jill Allan, B.C. Representative for the Glass Art Association of Canada
On June 10, the BC Glass Art Association hosted a fundraising dinner and presentation by Preston Singletary, a Seattle artist whose beautiful works merge traditional Tlingit design with European glass processes. Singletary was exposed to the Seattle glass world through his friendship with Dante Marioni, who suggested he take a job as night watchman at the Glass Eye studio in Seattle. He eventually became a member of the production team at that studio and went on to develop his skills by working with glass masters Lino Tagliapietra and Pino Signoretto and by studying Scandinavian design at Kosta Boda. Singletary’s skilful rendering of the traditional Tlingit designs that adorn his work was refined through study and collaboration with Northwest Coastal artists such as Steve Brown and Joe David. In addition to maintaining a successful studio practice, Singletary is a member of the board of trustees for the Pilchuck Glass School and the Seattle Art Museum.
The dinner took place at a restaurant in the business district and was comprised of a small group of collectors and makers. Complimentary to the intimate gathering, Singletary opened his presentation by singing a traditional Tlingit love song. After singing to us he began to describe the path he had taken to become the artist he is today. Singletary received no formal art training but through experience working at Pilchuck and in Seattle built glass making skills. Through his own research he learned about modernism and the 19th century artists’ attraction to ‘primitive’ art. He was inspired by the Surrealists and their ideas about psychology, the sub-conscious and dreaming. Stirred by this research, he began to consider using traditional Tlingit designs in his glass work, drawing on the graphic imagery found in surface decoration on baskets and wood carved forms to inform his own work. He told the story of Raven Stealing the Light as a kind of metaphor for the way that curiosity and pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable often paves the way for new growth. Singletary showed the work of other Native American artists working in glass and discussed the art programming at the Institute of American Indian Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where glass instruction has become available. Today he views his work as a hybrid of two traditions of creativity: European glass making married with Tlingit design.
Singletary has an exhibition called ‘Echoes, Fire and Shadows’ at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma Washington until Sept. 19th, 2010.
