Horizon Glassworks

Sweat, strength and stamina at white heat dominate the birthing process of blown art glass. Like a phoenix from the flames, molten silica sands at 1100 degrees Celsius are gathered, blown, spun, blown again - reborn as fishermen, women, cyclists, discs of colored light and flowers in jeweled hues, translucent and iridescently fragile as the wings of a dragon fly.

This is the magic that drives hot glass artist, Ron Seivertson of Horizon Glassworks studio in Ubud, and given the rigors of this art form, magic and passion's tenacity are essential for anyone wanting to make the grade.

Seivertson's obsession for his work holds the alchemy of love, the ability to overcome all obstacles through the intensity that is love.

It's been a long road to international success for this former builder from the States who first encountered hot glass at a Burning Man festival some years ago.

"I had gone through a mid-life crisis of sorts and had started studying different arts, sculpture and drawing. At the festival I saw this guy blowing glass - that was it - I saw at that moment glass was what I was born to do," said Seivertson of an art form that has been compared to playing a very dangerous symphony written for an orchestra of fire.

From that Burning Man moment, Seivertson has hunted the phoenix of hot glass, studying at the world's leading art glass school, Pilchuck in Washington State's Cascade Mountains and studios in Australia, finally taking the plunge and opening his own studio in Bali two years ago.

His move was a brave one, at that time there was very little hot glass coming out of Asia with just a handful of studios, some creating very fine pieces, but with few serious glass collectors looking to this part of the world.

"I had been working (in glass) in California, but had the house here. I had been coming to Bali for a long time and there was one powerfully intuitive moment that decided me in moving the studio here.

"I was walking past the Pura Dalem in Penestanan and realized that my presence here may not be essential for me, but it could mean a lot for my village - and this is what has come out of it," said Seivertson of his five Balinese apprentices who also work in hot glass and the two painters who are also working

in the medium.

"In some ways ~ is like the young artists' movement started by Arie Schmidt that opened the door's for Balinese artists to take different directions in their work - challenges in medium," said Seivertson.

The collaboration between Seivertson and Balinese glass painters has led to an exhibition in Berlin next year; a break into what was once the world's hot glass empire, Europe with it's Venetian glass mastery and centuries old hot glass traditions. .

"The invitation to exhibit came about through the Pilchuck Glass School. The exhibition's curator was looking for hot glass artists working on Islamic themes

and the school mentioned that I was here in Bali. I pointed out that Ball is Hindu within a predominantly Islamic nation, and that the works had no Islamic references, but they were really excited at the concept and the works.

"To be invited into the European exhibition is fantastic; we have sold craft level glass into Europe, but this is the first time the studio's fine art hot glass will be seen there," he said.

Being invited to exhibitions of this level "comes down to the work,"

"I am blown away by our team's ability - we've got a one and a half meter giant tear drop vase in the gallery. The apprentice glass blowers studying in Seattle wouldn't touch a glass gather that feels like 20 kg of hot glass and blow it - they would be too scared, but the guys here in the team don't know to be scared. That vase was blown horizontally - you can imagine what that takes in strength and precision,"

He adds that the "bench time' his apprentices have has made the difference. The guys work at this every day. Apprentices in Seattle schools just don't get that sort of hands on time. In the last two years we've made 4000 pieces of glass - most people would be lucky to have done 1000 in that time,"

Making art is hard work. Seivertson and his team labor in 40 degree Celsius temperatures six days a week, downing gallons of water as they sweat under the strain of art making. This is where hot glass gets mystical. From the sweat

And the fire and the strain, the masculine hardness of it all flies such delicacy, incandescent orbs of color that float I the gallery space; quieted with wonder the viewer stands with the phoenix that is Seivertson's hot glass art that lasts 5000 years.

Visitors are welcome to witness Seivertson and his team's hot glass making in the studio at Jalan Raya Kengetan, Ubud, Bali , Indonesia .

For more information Go to Horizonglassworks.com

Or telephone Horizon Glassworks Studio and Gallery at: 62 0361 780 4014.