BIGG Artist: Scott Darlington
Artist Statement
I try to recreate everyday objects in the glassiest way to see if glass celebrates the object or to see if glass ridicules it. Does a glass clothespin have a different feeling than a glass gun? Is one a trophy? Is one a lampoon? I want to see what glass has to say about objects, then blend and tweak that with my intuitions and motivations to give it a new voice. I want my work to transform an otherwise ordinary object and have it ask questions about itself, in a celebration of the known and unknowable, the obvious and mysterious. I work glass in the same way I used Legos and Tinker Toys as a child. I make vast numbers of parts to assemble and construct. Even though I might make the same component again and again, I expect it to be different every time. I love the fact that glass has endless variations and possibilities, mystery, and chance. Glass is fragile, ghostly, heavy, and substantial at the same time. These contrasting qualities say things and ask questions about the objects that I make. My technical abilities and ideas develop in a similar pace in the studio. The repetition of processes allows me to boil down my inspirations and leads me to think about variations or other ways to express an idea. Once is seldom enough.
Biography
Scott has been working with hot glass for 20 years. After completing his BFA at the Appalachian Center for Crafts in Tennessee he moved to Seattle and worked as an assistant for many different artists, sometimes doing production, sometimes helping to make one-off art pieces. Scott also worked as the hot shop coordinator at Pilchuck Glass School for 7 summers. After nearly 10 years in Seattle, he spent 4 years in Japan teaching as Associate Professor at the Toyama City Institute of Glass Art. In the spring of 2007 he received his MFA in glass from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Scott is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor and head of the glass area of the 3-Dimensional Studies division at Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio
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Education
2007 MFA, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
2001 Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, WA
1993 BFA, Appalachian Center for Crafts, Smithville, TN
1993-95 Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, WA
1989-90 Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC
1987-89 Columbus College of Art and Design, Columbus, OH
Awards & Scholarships
2008 Visiting Artist, Tacoma Museum of Glass, Tacoma, WA
2007 Fergus Family Materials Award, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
2005 Graduate Teaching Assistantship, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
2001 Pilchuck Glass School Staff Scholarship, Stanwood, WA
1993 Pilchuck Glass School Scholarship, Stanwood, WA
Tennessee Arts & Crafts Association Scholarship Fund, Foothills Craft Guild, TN
1987 Columbus College of Art & Design, Tuition Scholarship, Columbus, OH
Teaching Experience
2007- Present Visiting Assistant Professor, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH
2005-07 Graduate Teaching Assistant, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
2001-05 Associate Professor, Toyama City Institute of Glass Art, Toyama, Japan, Advanced Glassblowing, Instructor of record
Solo Exhibitions
2007 MFA Thesis, The Pyramid Project, Columbus, OH
2006 New Works, Mad Art Gallery, St. Louis, MO
2005 Toyama Retrospective, Toyama City Institute of Glass Art, Toyama, Japan
2004 Solo Show, Shizuoka Public Glass and Metal Facility, Shizuoka, Japan
1998 Solo Exhibition, Foster White Gallery, Seattle WA
