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Jewelberry Vine)
Winter Landscape Vessel)
Friendly ConfrontationIn many ways, John Nygren embodies the Western North Carolina glass tradition. He came to the Penland School of Crafts for a 3-week course in glassblowing in 1968, after earning his MFA at Cranbrook Academy. John returned to his day job, teaching ceramics at Wilmington College on the North Carolina Coast, but he was hooked. He built a small a furnace there so he could blow glass at night. The next year John and his wife/partner Sharon moved to rural Walnut Cove, NC, where he built the studio in which he still works.
Now an accomplished and widely collected artist, Nygren has used the technique of lampworking and flameworking on hot glass since 1972. A love of nature, form, and color informs all of his work. His landscape vessels are strong yet incredibly delicate pieces, with lampworked vines and berries trailing gently on classic vase forms. A marvelous contrast are his whimsical frogs, with their giant eyes, intriguing coloration, and fascinating perches. These long-toed creatures never fail to evoke a smile-and an appreciation of the superb technique involved in their creation.
John is passionate about ecology and the environment. He has always worked with recycled container glass and is a master of making do and working simple. When asked about the future, John speaks of "enjoying the art of living, and still producing something." Art is another process and product of daily life. That we have been able to live from this process is also a great blessing.
