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Clay Coyote

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Artist Profiles: Karg Art Glass

February 6, 2019 By Eric Lofdahl

Karg Art Glass Sculpture Against the SnowWe’ve gotten a good bit of snow out here at the Clay Coyote in the past few weeks. That’s meant plenty of plowing for Morgan, and lots of shoveling and sweeping for me. It has also brought out the beauty of our window displays. We have some amazing glass art in front of the windows here, and the pristine white backgrounds make the colors of these pieces pop. I have been drawn to the display on the East wall of the gallery in particular, where we have pieces from Karg Art Glass. This is the art of Rollin Karg, an artist who discovered his talents later in life than most.

Karg Art Glass PaperweightGrowing up, Rollin Karg was surrounded by men who worked with their hands. He describes his father and grandfather as “big strong hard-working guys.” Naturally, he wanted to grow up to be like them, working as a carpenter or contractor. They had a different vision for him, and told him that he would be the president of a company one day. So, he went on to study business at Wichita State and began a career in industry and sales afterwards.

As a result, his career in glass blowing did not start until age 38. On a family vacation, he had stopped at the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York and saw a glass blowing demonstration. That was all it took to get him hooked. He began taking classes with Richard Stauffer at Emporia State University and in 1983 he began his career as a full time artist.

He started by making paperweights in his garage, and selling his work from the basement. Before long, the 340-square-foot workspace was not enough, and he moved into a 3,000-square-foot space. And 450-square-feet of that was dedicated to gallery space. Six months later, he had to move again.

 

Karg Art Glass Paperweight

Karg is now operating out of a facility in Kechi, Kansas that consists of two buildings. The largest is 7,300-square-feet and holds a 3,200-square-foot gallery. As his workspace grew and evolved, so too did his art. From the paperweights he started with, Karg began making larger sculptures from glass. These elongated pieces twist and stretch upward, and actually came about from a mistake he made while creating a paperweight.

Karg Art Glass Metal and Glass SculptureThe second building at his facility is 3,000-square-feet and started as a space to make metal stands to display his glass art as well as the furnaces he uses to create it. Karg, a man who clearly can suddenly be struck by inspiration and is not afraid of taking risks, began to experiment with metal and incorporate it into his art. He now makes sculptures that are a combination of metal and glass, and come in sizes both large and small.

Karg’s glass art can be found at galleries in nearly every state, as well as in Montreal and Toronto, and his metal sculptures are featured in sculpture walks. The Clay Coyote is the one gallery in Minnesota where you can find his work.

Come in and see his stunning pieces against the snow here at the gallery, or, if you don’t want to brave the cold, you can buy his art on our online shop as well.

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Filed Under: Our Story, The Gallery Tagged With: art, artist profile, clay coyote, clay coyote gallery, glass art, hand crafted, handmade, karg art glass, Rollin Karg

Handmade Blown Glass

September 28, 2017 By Kylie Lawson

Blown glass is a beautiful and intricate art form that is fascinating to learn about. At the Clay Coyote we sell blown glass, specifically paperweights, and we’d like to share with you the history, process, and what we have available for you.

HISTORY
Blown glass paperweights began being produced around 1845 in France. But it wasn’t until the middle of the 20th century that they started to become more popular in the United States. There are a couple different styles of paperweights.
– Millefiori is an Italian style that means “thousand flowers.” As you can imagine, they contain cylindrical colored rods that resemble flowers.
– The Lampwork style means it has flowers, animals, fruits, insects, and other objects made from glass pieces inside the paperweight.
– The California style contains paintings on the outside of the paperweight with colored molten glass.

There are many other styles, but these happen to be the most common. Paperweights are made to fit in the palm of your hand and to be viewed in various directions to see different colors and patterns. Most of the paperweights have a dome-like shape so they can be viewed easily from any direction and allows for the design to change at each direction.

PROCESS
Here is a video on the art of making  Lampwork style of blown glass paperweights

At the Clay Coyote, we have a few artists in the gallery that sell blown glass paperweights. Those include Karg Art Glass, Hot Glass Alley, Glass Eye Studio, and Joshua Fradis, and a few more. Prices can range from $35 – $115 depending on the size and materials used in the paperweights.

Come browse the beautiful handmade glass we have in the gallery. The pictures just don’t do justice to seeing and feeling them in person.

We are open everyday Monday-Saturday 10-5pm and Sundays noon-4pm. We hope you fall in love with the raw beauty blown glass has to offer.

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Filed Under: Our Story, The Gallery Tagged With: blown glass, california style, clay coyote, glass eye studio, hot glass alley, joshua fradis, karg art glass, lampwork, millefiori, paperweights

Clay Coyote

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Phone (320) 587-2599

Mail PO BOX 363, Hutchinson, MN 55350

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