Ornament is the leading magazine celebrating wearable art. Explore jewelry, fashion, beads; contemporary, ancient and ethnographic.
Issue link: http://ornamentmagazine.epubxp.com/i/104373
glass arts Joel Bloomberg Robert K. Liu 70 ORNAMENT 36.2.2012 C ontinuity and change mark every artist's life. In 1985, Joel Bloomberg and his wife Judith Werick were among the first makers of glass cane beads we covered, when glass jewelry was just in its ascendancy in America (Ornament, Volume 8, No. 3). Both of them blew and pulled canes, while Werick combined their straight cane beads with metal into jewelry. When she passed in 2001, Bloomberg did not make much new work for a decade, although his motherin-law continued making glass jewelry with his canes. He learned glass at nearby Palomar College, then went to California State University, Chico, where William Morris, now a retired but internationally known glass artist, was a fellow student, as well as many others in the American studio glass movement. Now re-married, Bloomberg and Margaret Eisenbach still run Joel Bloomberg Studios on the coast highway of Encinitas, California, since 1980. It is a part of northern San Diego which has not changed much for decades, in what is called a whiz-by zone, since most of the traffic is automobiles, not pedestrians. The small but cheery gallery is filled with functional and sculptural glass. The furnace and lehr are located behind the gallery, with the furnace fired every other month for two or three weeks. Since the furnace is in an open area, glass cannot be blown when it rains or if the Santa Ana winds are passing from the desert to the ocean. Designed and built by Bloomberg, it holds one hundred fifty pounds of glass; the most expensive part is loading and fining the glass, due to the high heat required. Bloomberg is especially known for his illuminated Jellyfish lamps, which are on sale at the shop of the National Aquarium, due to Wendy Rosen's efforts to get museum stores to buy more American craft. Since their business is still primarily wholesale, much of their sales are to stores and galleries through attendance at the Buyers Market of American Craft, one of Wendy Rosen's shows. Joel Bloomberg Studios also carries an assortment of glass jewelry, including the Arched Bead Series, begun in the 1990s. Made with the pickup technique, each pull of glass cane only yields enough for ten to fifteen pieces of jewelry, which are cut, individually shaped and polished. The jewelry is distinguished by good, clean design, functionality and attention to detail. Most of the work is derived from the Arched Bead and Floral Series, consisting of earrings, bracelets and necklaces. Two years ago the Floral Series was introduced, in which off-hand techniques are employed to make flowers with cane stems. The blown floral elements are shaped with various tools while hot; afterwards, they are fumed to give the pieces luster or iridescence, before assembly into necklaces. Except for some earrings, all their jewelry employs glass components made by Bloomberg. When working for Orient and Flume Art Glass, he learned soldering and has taught Eisenbach some jewelry techniques, but she is largely selftaught in metals, puzzling and problem-solving on her own. Unless a person made jewelry, many of the small details on her necklaces and bracelets would possibly be missed but are much appreciated by those who are knowledgeable. Virtually all her clasps, closures and findings are handmade. Interestingly, Eisenbach relates that practicality or functionality are sometimes trumped by perceptions. Some of her bracelets used magnetic clasps, easily taken on or off with one hand. Yet these did not sell as well as bracelets with hook clasps; eventually, clients told her the magnetic clasps looked cheap. If the same or similar glass components were strung on either stainless cable or leather cord, the latter were seen as more feminine and sold better. REFERENCE Kennedy, S.S.J. and R.K. Liu. "Contemporary Cane Beadmaking." Ornament Vol. 8, No. 3: 18-23. JOEL BLOOMBERG AND MARGARET EISENBACH in Joel Bloomberg Studios, their glass art gallery in Encinitas, California. SCULPTURAL JELLYFISH LAMP constructed of blown, off-hand, coldworked, laminated and fumed glass; the canes and shade are then assembled into a lamp, with silicon details. Photographs: Robert K. Liu/Ornament.