Fort Wayne Museum of Art
Fort Wayne, IN
219-422-6467
http://www.fwmoa.org/
William Morris: Myth, Object,
and the Animal
Bone? Wood? Stone?
Leather? Is it possible for glass to have the optical equivalence of these?
Glass artist William Morris has the uncanny ability to manipulate blown
glass into something it really isn't. Morris pushes the limit of glass blowing
with his mesmerizing sculptures using extraordinary technical skills that
seem beyond the physical and chemical possibilities of glass.
Morris uses the fragile medium of glass to recreate life-size
black ravens and exquisite deer heads that reflect 
themes of myth, archaeology and the animal. "Morris's
works are not flashy as is much that is created in this medium, but more
quietly beautiful, with their opaque, sensual surfaces, and luminous color
that seems to glow within each piece as if it were some sort of life force
or blood coursing through." states Patricia Watkinson, Director of
the Fort Wayne Museum of Art. His work invites the visitor to contemplate
the ever-widening gap between contemporary culture, which focuses on technology
and progress and our primitive beginnings, shaped by the forces of nature
and myth. (left: The Raven Jar, 1999, blown glass, Photo:
Rob Vinnedge)
Morris has spent over 25 years honing his skills. The Seattle-area
artist's pieces are in museum collections from New Zealand to Japan, from
London's Victoria and Albert Museum to Paris's Musée des Arts Decoratifs.
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themes of myth, archaeology and the animal. "Morris's
works are not flashy as is much that is created in this medium, but more
quietly beautiful, with their opaque, sensual surfaces, and luminous color
that seems to glow within each piece as if it were some sort of life force
or blood coursing through." states Patricia Watkinson, Director of
the Fort Wayne Museum of Art. His work invites the visitor to contemplate
the ever-widening gap between contemporary culture, which focuses on technology
and progress and our primitive beginnings, shaped by the forces of nature
and myth. (left: The Raven Jar, 1999, blown glass, Photo:
Rob Vinnedge)