Emily Williams, flameworking Purple Blue Fan Coral, 2023

The Glass Reef is a sculpture project exploring marine life unique to coral reefs.  Using glass hand torches I explore the movement, structure, and pattern found in coral reef life.  Many coral reefs are threatened and under attack.  Through this Glass Reef project I want to draw attention to this hidden, fragile world.

Building a Glass Reef

Recently I completed work on a large glass Brain Coral sculpture.  This complex sculpture took a number of months to complete.  The Brain Coral is part of a larger glass series looking at different types of reef life.  You can view glass sculptures of seaweed, jellyfish, and coral on my website.

For three years I have been building my ideas and glass working methods to make these sculptures a reality. At this time I am focused on different coral species such as meandrina and favia brain corals.  This new work has swept me into exciting directions exploring coral forms and glass structures.

The Feeding Brain Coral

Detail, Large Brain Coral, Flameworked Glass

The feeding or “open” brain coral is a spectacular site to behold.  Most people think of coral in a “closed” state.  When the coral is feeding it releases thousands of swaying tendrils that catch small bits of food in the ocean currents.  This state of the feeding brain coral has inspired my recent sculpture Brain Coral. There are many variants of brain coral within a single species.  Some feeding corals look like giant balls of spaghetti noodles or bouquets of bright flowers.

Inspired by Science and Glass History

A coral reef is quite a muse for an artist.  There is enough life on a coral reef to keep me busy for a few decades.  I study a lot of 18-19th century scientific illustration.  I am drawn like a moth to these images made in earlier times when the planet thrived!  Many of these drawings are true works of art.  There is an abundance of these resources found on the web.

The BHL website features many rare books and scientific drawings.  These types of drawings provide me with lots of visual detail about diverse marine life.  You may enjoy reading my interview Finding Artistic Inspiration in Biodiversity Literature.  In the interview I explain how I access and use these sources to develop my glass sculpture.

The Blaschka drawings and glass models have inspired this current series of sculptures.  The Blaschka’s were a father and son team from Dresden, Germany.  They made very detailed glass models of marine life.  They are also known the world over for their glass flower models.  For me their glass sculpture is a grand intersection of art and science.  You may be interested to read about the Blaschka exhibit of drawings and glass sculpture. Check out Fragile Legacy: The Marine Invertebrate Models of Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka on the Corning Museum of Glass website. 

Flameworking a Glass Reef