Larissa Blokhuis - blown glass 

My earliest memories are related to art, and at age 5 I knew I was an artist.  Throughout my life I have always felt the need to make things.  When I was 14 I took a two week summer course in glass because it was a material I had not worked with yet.  At that time I decided I would become a glass artist. 

I am very much interested in new ideas, and enjoy learning new concepts and facts.  I can usually see connecting factors in the different subjects I learn about.  I am always looking for pattern, repetition, and contrast, and when I find these elements they often become the nucleus of an idea for my art.  Ideas generally come before any images, and once I have an idea my image is worked around that idea. 

With glass I have generally been interested in developing ideas about ocean ecosystems.  It is more difficult to visually quantify the damage being done to the sea, and therefore more urgent to call attention to it.  There is great mystery and beauty in the sea, and it is worth preserving the bio-diversity.  There are new creatures being discovered on a regular basis.  The opportunity to learn about such strange creatures living in a world so alien to our own holds great appeal to me. 

My forms all contain a spontaneous element to make them more natural and genuine.  Glass is appropriate because it is fragile like the animals I usually depict, and allows fluid lines.  I work primarily with glass, but will incorporate other materials as needed.  Glass is my preferred medium because it challenges me in terms of fabrication and sculptural concerns as they relate to concept.

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