Coral Reef Murrine Bowl

This intricate bowl is composed of nearly 1000 cylinders of glass. The glass cylinders are sections individually cut from hand-pulled glass cane, which the artist creates by heating glass to 1500 degrees and pulling it into rods while molten in a modern-day adaptation of the 16th century techniques of the Murano glassmakers. Blending opalescent white and cream glass with transparent aquamarine, blue, and glittering threads of glass in each murrine, the resulting vessel transmits light while retaining a feeling of solidity. On the outside, the murrine have a soft, billowing shape that calls to mind anemones. On the inside, a more structured outline evokes coral and bubbles as the viewer drifts through the ocean. Along the top edge, gaze into the core of each murine, polished for translucency. The base of the bowl resembles a sandy sea bottom with striated rocks and pebbles.