STEPHEN ROLFE POWELL: GLASSMAKER

Southern Living, Mar 2008 by McKinney, Wanda

STEPHEN ROLFE POWELL: GLASSMAKER BY STEPHEN ROLFE POWELL (THE UNIVERSITY PRESS OF KENTUCKY, $75)

Tucked away in the small college town of Danville, Kentucky, fire and liquid glass fuse into stunning works of art, created by internationally known artist Stephen Rolfe Powell. I have been fortunate enough to see this man at work at Centre College, standing in front of a howling hot molten glass-filled furnace, wielding a blowpipe, and creating 30-pound glass vessels so edgy and fabulous that they boast names such as Winking Tangy Orb and Sultry Lemon Jitter.

For those who forgo the trek to Kentucky where Powell teaches his art and craft, this book is the next best thing. Stephen Rolfe Powell: Glassmaker takes the reader on a kaleidoscopic carpet ride with 250 color photos of the artist's creations.

But the real joy glimmers in near-psychedelic pages swirling with color. Eye-popping shots show the process, beginning with a blowpipe fresh from the blazing kiln covered in a translucent gather of glass. Powell has honed his craft for more than 20 years. "Intensitythat's what drew me to glassblowing," he says. "Intensity and immediacy and fire." The fire burns bright in these brilliantly hued pages.

-WANDA MCKINNEY