In April of 2005, I traveled to the island of Murano which is situated in the Venetian lagoon of north-eastern Italy, just in from the Adriatic Sea. My purpose was to study with two world-renowned glass sculptors - Lucio Bubacco and Vittorio Costantini.
Of the ten days I was on Murano, three were spent studying with Lucio and three with Vittorio. On the other days I visited several other glass workers including Pino Signoretto, Silvano Signoretto, and Davide Salvadore. It was my dream for many years to go to Murano, and I definitely got my money's worth!
The following pictures depict my experience of the trip. Enjoy!
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View of the Alps from Milan airport. |
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View from Murano, just after being dropped off by Alilaguna boat. |
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...and the front of the boat. |
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The first sign I'm really on Murano - glass vendors EVERYWHERE! |
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Walking down Fondamenta Vetrai, towards main canal. |
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The front door to Venini's showroom. Didn't bother to go inside, but exciting to see this famous glass factory. |
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Brief glance inside Lucio Bubacco's studio when I first arrived. |
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Ironwork depicting a glassblower at work, just outside of the largest glass gallery on Fondamenta Vetrai. |
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Delapidated church, hidden in alleyway behind the gallery. |
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New and old, juxtaposed - Modern furnace ventilation and centuries-old belltower, as viewed from walkway outside of Lucio's studio. |
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Glass sculpture by Lucio Bubacco, located in his personal gallery. |
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Glass sculpture by Lucio Bubacco, located in his personal gallery. |
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"Happy" Harold Williams Cooney, admiring Lucio's work. |
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Glass sculpture by Lucio Bubacco, located in his personal gallery |
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Glass sculpture by Lucio Bubacco, located in his personal gallery |
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Glass sculpture by Lucio Bubacco, located in his personal gallery |
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Mermaid sitting in bed of sea kelp, created by Lucio as demo for class. |
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The oxygen delivery boat!!! Just think about how many lampworkers there are on Murano, and they all need oxygen... I saw several of these boats making deliveries *every* morning. |
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Lampworking devil goblet. It's hard to tell from this picture, but the torch hose goes up the butt! |
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On Murano, the glass furnaces and gallery all everywhere. Not too many places in the world, do you see glass art being wheeled down the street in a cart! |
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This glass shop is located right across from Lucio's studio. Home to the biggest glory hole I have ever seen... |
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Myself with Lucio, outside of his studio. The glass shop from the previous photo and video is behind us, through the gate. |
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The view inside the annealing kiln at a different glass shop. This shop specializes in goblets and other fine glassware. |
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Most annealing kilns on Murano are heated by natural gas which is piped in from Russia. These kilns were once fired with wood, from below. Hence the "fireplace" beneath each section. |
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This glass shop (previous two photos) is in a residential neighborhood, so these the canal here is lined with parked boats. |
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A carrot and banana "situation", created by Lucio as a demo for the class. |
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You can really get a feel for the age of this place, by the texture of the brick walls. Amazingly textured! |
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Navigating the winding alleyways of Venice with Lewis Wilson and Julie Wuest. |
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The three of us journeyed into Venice to visit Vittorio and Graziella Costantini at Vittorio's shop, hidden amond the labyrinthian passageways of the city. |
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Vittorio's shop is filled with a wealth of amazing creations! Each creature is so real, it looks as if it is about to scuttle or fly away. |
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Il granchio - a crab by Vittorio, along with a few other sea creatures. |
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One of Vittorio's amazingly delicate and intricate glass scarabs. |
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Venice' general elections were happening during my visit, and there was no shortage of political propoganda posted... |
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Lewis and Julie, with a the ornate facade of a grande chiesa in the background. |
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Just one of the statues adorning the face of this church. |
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The view while crossing a bridge, as we wandered through Venice. If you've never been to there, then it might not occur to you that you must cross a bridge every several hundred feet... |
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WHAT does that grafitti say?!? |
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Laundry out to dry, in a bask alleyway. It's hard to imagine it gets very dry, with the dank air of Venice... |
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Construction information, right next to an alter. Weird and interesting. |
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Julie and Lewis in Piazza San Marco. |
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The facade of San Marco. Notice the intricate glass mosaics. |
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Another view of San Marco and the side of Palazzo Ducale (where the seat of Venetian goverment was held for about 600 years!!!) |
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Lewis, with his a special Italian extension on his top hat ;) |
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Visiting the studio of Maestro Pino Signoretto, with two very macabre statues behind. |
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The view from la giarninia di Fornace Pino Signoretto. |
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The view from la giarninia di Fornace Pino Signoretto. |
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And myself in Pino Signoretto's garden. |
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Visiting the studio of Maestro Silvano Signoretto. |
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Silvano and his team work on a piece designed by an Austrian artist. |
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Visiting the studio of Maestro Davide Salvadore. |
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The oldest church on Murano. |
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The bridge in front of this church... |
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And the tower next to the church... |
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And the garden of a restaurant in the plaza of the church... |
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And a final view of this church. |
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This is the interior of a different church, situated nearby Studio Lucio Bubacco. |
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Another view of this churches' interior... |
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The Muranese chandeliers look very elegant in this church! |
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Vittorio Costantini making a hercules beetle at the torch. |
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Hercules beetle made by Vittorio as demo for class. |
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Vittorio putting legs on a butterfl at the torch. |
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Vittorio making an octopus at the torch. |
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Vittorio making a flamingo at the torch. |
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Ant (life size!) made by Vittorio as demo for class. |
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Dinner in Lucio's studio. Pictured, left to right: "Happy" Harold Willaims Cooney, Julie Wuest, Graziella Costantini, Lucio Bubacco, Vittorio Costantini, Yumi (last name?), Lewis Wilson, Wesley Fleming, Jason Herring. |
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Myself and Lewis Wilson on Fondamenta Vetrai, before dinner on our last day of class.. |
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With Vittorio Costantini. |
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The class after dinner. Pictured left to right: Lucio Bubacco, Wesley Fleming, "Happy" Harold Williams Cooney, Jason Herring, Todd Taylor, Yumi, Lewis Wilson, Vittorio Costantini, Julie Wuest, and a friend of Lucio's. |
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One final group picture... |
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Un cervo (deer) which I made during the class. |
