Gary Beecham and Mary Lynn White create colorful vases and sculptures which are inspired by astronomical forms, undersea creatures and Persian rug style figures. Gary first became interested in glass during his freshman year at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He was a Geology major however he managed to catch glimpses of the glass studio. Gary began to hang around more, offering assistance to other students until he finally change his major. He graduated with honors in 1979 with a B.F.A. in Art. In 1978, Gary served as visiting artist at the J. & L. Lobmeyer Co., Vienna, Austria. From 1980 until 1985 he worked as an assistant to Harvey K. Littleton, Spruce Pine, NC, and since 1985 Gary has been working as an independent artist. Gary and Mary Lynn¡¯s work has been featured in several publications including; ¡°The Survey of Glass in the World, vol 6 Contemporary Glass¡± in 1992; ¡°International Exhibition of Glass Kanazawa¡¯92"; ¡°Glass Art Magazine¡±, July/August 1988. Their work is shown in galleries and museums across the United States as well as the world and are included in numerous public and private collections including; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA; Musee de Verre, Liege, Belgium; Frauenau Glas Museum, Frauenau, Germany; Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC; Kunstmuseum Dusseldorf, Dusseldorf, Germany; North Carolina Museum of History, Raleigh, NC; J.& L. Lobmeyer Collection, Vienna, Austria; Capitol Bank Collection, Houston, TX; and Southern Bell to name a few. The vases and sculptures created by Gary Beecham and Mary Lynn White are influenced by both ancient glass techniques as well as underwater life and astronomical forms. They treat their glass as the Egyptians did, a gem-like material which can be colored, stretched, melted and carved. Gary and Mary Lynn do experiment with some more modern techniques of blowing, fusing, and cutting. They create a illusion of fabric suspended inside of thick crystal walls by introducing a variety of colored glass formed ahead of time into small rods and arranging them into a pattern. The pattern is then fused to the surface of the molten glass during the blowing process. Often times Gary and Mary Lynn will add two or three different layers of the fabric like patterns to add even more depth and visual interest. |
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