)
Grail Series)
Grail Series, DetailRichard Ritter was an early member of the contemporary studio glass movement. After a 6-year career as a commercial designer, he sought alternative artistic options. In 1968, he graduated from the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit, with a dual major in advertising design and crafts and a growing passion for glass. Soon, Penland, NC, became the focus of his artistic life. A student in 1971, he was invited to teach in 1972, and eventually became Artist in Residence for 4 years. With his wife, glass artist Jan Williams, he has maintained a studio in nearby Bakersville since 1980.
Richard was initially known for his murrini, the result of hands-on research into an ancient technique. He developed a new approach, known as "cold packing," that enabled him to created detailed likenesses of his family in a series of murrini that is now in the Corning Museum collection. This intricate process took 8 months. In 1976, feeling that his work might be stagnating, Richard destroyed his existing murrini and focused for several years on the spontaneity of hot glass, which he made with a formula that he still uses today. The murrini are once again a focus of his works, as inclusions within large hot-worked crystal pieces. "The real intent of my work is to create illusions of a fluid world within a concise linear surface. I use the traditional techniques of murrini and cane-working in order to investigate subtle colorations, internal form and line, textures, and depth. Ultimately, the viewer expores the piece in order to discover their own personal impression of the imagery."
