Woven Wonders

Each year the Alice C. Sabatini Gallery and the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library are fortunate to be the recipients of many gifts of fine works of art from local patrons of the arts. Because of limited space in the gallery, we are not able to share each new gift with you all. However, through the power of the internet we are glad to be able to give you a glimpse into our collection storage and see some of the wonders we have here at the library.

Last year Glinda B. Leach gifted the Alice C. Sabatini Gallery a stunning glass sculpture by the artists Eric Markow and Thom Norris. The piece is called Confetti and it’s an amazing work of woven glass—that’s right, the artists have created a technique that allows them to weave “glass threads” together to create glass masterpieces.

Confetti is a stunning glass table sculpture that radiates with color and depth. You can see every glass thread as it's woven to create this unique piece. The use of various thicknesses of glass as well as a mix of colors, draw your eye to the smooth yet rough texture of the glass. The body is smooth while the ends are raw and rough, like the selvedge on a bolt of fabric.

Confetti seems to flow and move as effortlessly as fabric, yet is as rigid as the glass it’s made from. Confetti is a marriage of organic shapes and vivid colors, while feeling and looking like a rag rug.

To find out more about the artists Eric Markoe and Thom Norris and their woven glass, visit their website at www.wovenglass.com