Henry Levine

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Inspired by ancient Roman glass, I strive to create work that is both beautiful and useful in which the color, pattern and shape are balanced.  I use a rich medley of colors that glow with translucency and create a sense of depth.  Recurring themes in my work are repeated patterns and applied motion.  My favorite shape to work with at the moment is the candy dish; the thick bottom and flared lip allows me to create a space in the cone that is intimate and jewel-like.

When I owned the neon shop, I told people that it required bumblebee wings to run that business – bumblebee wings are an apt metaphor because of the incessant flapping of the wings to keep the thing flying, and bumblebee wings defy conventional wisdom as to how they actually work.  The glass art business requires butterfly wings.  Butterflies need perfect conditions to fly;  if it is too cold, a butterfly will sun itself and pump warm liquid into its wings.  When its wings are warmed, it will take off flying.

While at the beach last summer, I was walking down a shaded sand road grazing on blackberries and chokecherries.  It was a glorious day with bright sunshine and a surreal blue sky – a perfect 82 degrees  I looked down the path from where I had come and saw a large butterfly bobbing and weaving fast towards me.  With all of its hot flower nectar energy, it swooped around me and zipped on down the road in front of me.  Yeah, blowing glass is a lot like that.