Famous Louisville art glass maker?

July 27, 2014 5:13 PM

Some time ago an acquaintance gave me a large vase that she said was made by a famous art glass maker in Louisville, Kentucky. I can't remember the name of the maker, but got the sense from her that it was a company that would be well-known among aficionados of art glass, as much as, say, Viking is. However, Google searches haven't produced anything definitive. Does anyone know what this company might be?
posted by Mechitar to Media & Arts (10 answers total)

Any other information? Date of manufacture, style? Pictures would be helpful as well. I live in Louisville, and I am a stained glass artist so if I can't help you I'm going to feel really dumb!
posted by chaoticgood at 7:05 PM on July 27, 2014

Response by poster: Chaoticgood: I don't know of a way to show you a picture short of emailing it to your personal email account (which I'm happy to do, if you're willing; just send me a MeFi email to get that started). I'm not internet-savvy enough to even know of free image hosting sites offhand, much less be a member of one. So for now I'll just try to describe the vase. It's about 16" tall and has a bulbous/teardrop shape at the bottom which narrows at the neck, and then flares out a bit at the top. The bottom 1/3 is orange glass; the rest is clear glass. There are no stickers or other markings on the piece, but I believe it's relatively recent - from the past 10 years or so. Hope that helps, but again, I'm willing to send pictures of it.
posted by Mechitar at 8:44 PM on July 27, 2014

Does it look like this?

Oh, on second look, that's from Wheeling WV, so probably not.
posted by mgar at 9:05 PM on July 27, 2014

I wonder if it was Blenko, which is also West Virginia. Might you/she have the location wrong?
posted by judith at 9:25 PM on July 27, 2014

I think you are thinking of blown glass. I cant remember the guys name but there is a very famous glass blower that lives in kentucky and teaches at either centre college or uofk. Try searching glass blowers?
posted by frednorton at 10:41 PM on July 27, 2014

I think i am thinking of stephen powell. http://www.stephenrolfepowell.com
posted by frednorton at 10:43 PM on July 27, 2014 [1 favorite]

I would send a photo of it to these folks and see if they can help.
posted by jbickers at 5:46 AM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]

Trying looking at the galleries of these guys: Casey Hyland, Brook Forrest White, Chad Balster, Che Rhodes

Something may look similar to your vase. Good luck!
posted by chaoticgood at 6:22 AM on July 28, 2014

Glassworks is a Louisville treasure and is likely where your piece was made. Someone there might be able to identify the artist.
posted by acorncup at 10:44 PM on July 29, 2014

I received pictures from the OP. They are a vertical shot and one from below the base.
posted by wnissen at 7:10 AM on July 31, 2014