The Beauty And Functionality Of Art Glass

Once again this Christmas/Chanuka season I’m turning towards gifts and special mailings. I give cash gifts to my niece, nephews and my foster son and his family. I order a great one-sheet New Year’s calender and thank-you cards from Harrison Publishing.

And I then pick out someone special who will get art glass. They won’t know it until they get it — and when they open it, it’ll be the thrill of a lifetime.

For years, for weddings, special occasions or just a special gift for someone who is absolutely special I’ve been giving art glass in the style of the piece you see above — from the same company. I’ve ordered different styles of perfume bottles. And, in each case, the person has excitedly called me and said they were moved by its beauty and functionality. It became an instant heirloom.

I have to admit I’m biased. The pieces come from HERE – my brother’s one-man company, the product of him sitting literally over a molten hot furnace all day, painstakingly crafting each piece individually. He takes every centimeter of his creation, and its individual beauty, very seriously. But if Roger hadn’t been my brother and I had discovered this very special gift, I’d still be giving them.

And now we’re in a sliding economy. And people like Roger Gandelman who work so hard to make a piece that could be literally admired for generations are unlikely to escape the pain if oil and gas prices go up, galleries feel the pinch, and fewer people go to shows where they display their lovingly-created wares. Or, rather, will art like this still flourish in the troubled 21st Century?

So if you’re looking for a good gift…think of giving some kind of art to someone special…something such as art glass.

I could suggest a place to buy one, but then I’d be biased. But my bias is due to the excited phone calls I get each time I give one and then meeting the recipients of the gifts afterwards who, years, later, are still thanking me…as Roger sits in his studio in sweltering temperatures, putting time, love and his very life into pieces of beauty…