Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.

Chicopee glass artist featured at Springfield gallery

The work of Joe Peters (above) can be seen at Gallery 137 in Indian Orchard. Reminder Publications submitted photos
By Lori Szepelak

Correspondent



SPRINGFIELD What started out as a friendship and a love for art one year ago has blossomed into Gallery 137's latest exhibition, "Heart of Glass."

Glass artists Joe Peters of Chicopee and Peter Muller of Guilford, Vt., hope that visitors to the show will leave inspired by the work of their imaginations. The show also features "104 Tiny Quilts" by Linda Rogers and Barbara Stroup. A reception for the artists is planned Sept. 13 from 4 to 6 p.m.

"I'm hoping people leave this show inspired by what two young artists are doing with a centuries-old craft," Muller said during an interview with Reminder Publications. "Our tools and techniques haven't changed much over hundreds of years, but I think Joe and I offer something new."

Indeed.

Muller explained that the show not only presents their separate bodies of work but also examples of the collaboration they began a year ago. Their works are nothing short of stunning.

"The most wonderful thing about working with glass is the constant challenge of controlling the material as well as its limitless boundaries for expression," Muller added. "Each time I sit down to create a piece, I learn something new."

Muller noted that sometimes even "mistakes" can lead to breakthroughs.

"It's a constant dialogue between my vision and what the glass can do," he said. He added, "Glass at 2150 degrees has a will of its own."

Muller, who was exposed to art glass at a young age, noted that he loves the balance of control and respect for the materials natural movement. Muller is the son of Northampton gallery owner Don Muller, and had been urged to give the medium a try as he was growing up.

"For many years my focus was on music," Muller said, noting that after touring in a band for over a year, he contemplated whether he had chosen the right path to pursue. After working in his father's gallery and apprenticing with glassblower Timothy Burke, suddenly his vision changed.

"After I gathered my first blob of molten glass I never looked back," he added.

For Peters, it was an art teacher at Holyoke Community College who encouraged him to take a glassblowing class at Snow Farm in Williamsburg to try out the medium.

"After that experience I was hooked," Peters said.

Peters noted he enjoys working with glass since it is a fast-paced medium.

"Integrating color and form, I have something in mind but the sky's the limit in terms of what can be created," he said.

Peters explained that growing up in Western Massachusetts allowed him to be surrounded by an environment rich in the arts. After living and scuba diving in areas of South America several years ago, Peters noted that he also gained an appreciation for underwater plant and amphibian life.

"Most of my work focuses on natural subjects," Peters said. "The color and form of sea life really fascinates me."

Peters noted that nature also provides endless opportunities to explore the depth, color and reflective properties of glass.

"I especially like the spontaneity of glass," he said. "When I start a piece, I have something in mind but I'm never exactly sure what the finished piece will be."

Peters said he hopes visitors to the exhibition realize the beauty of all creatures, and Muller echoes those sentiments, adding he hopes that adults and children alike can be inspired by the limitless possibilities of the imagination.

"Heart of Glass" runs through Oct. 4 at Gallery 137, 137 Main St., Indian Orchard. Gallery 137 is a project of the Indian Orchard Main Street Partnership. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information, call 543-6994, or visit www.gallery137.org.