Icefire Glassworks

The craftsmanship at Icefire Glassworks begins with the building. With its hand-hewn cedar posts and steel brackets evoking Pacific Northwest Native American art, it embodies the aesthetics of the 1970s. The hinges on its doors are of material salvaged from a shipwreck, and the roof is recycled metal. The creative spark doesn’t stop there. Born in fire, now smooth as water, glass pieces line the walls of this rustic gallery. Sensual shapes and exquisite color play with light; while visitors watch new works come into being. Educated as a potter, self-educated as a glass artist, James Kingwell brings long experience to his classic forms. Colors range from the serenity of the “Northern Lights” pieces to the electric energy of his “Bad Hair Day” series. The “Zingers” express all the motion possible in glass. Suzanne Kindland’s “Autumn Leaves” series evokes forests, grasslands and deserts. The “Brocades” feature complex applications of frits, powders and precious metal leaf, and the “ColorPlay” pieces use the different viscosities of the colors to form the vessels. Also featured are gallery friends Michelle Kaptur and Mark Gordon.