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Michael Mangiafico works thru the detailed steps to create incredibly articulated lampworked sculpture.
Inspired By Nature – Glass BUGS!
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Glass Insects by Michael Mangiafico
Michael (Fig) Mangiafico graduated with a BFA in glass art from Carnegie Mellon University in 1985. He has been teaching torchworking and glass blowing for over 20 years. He owns and operates his own glass studio in Pittsburgh, PA and has exhibited and taught across the US. Fug is member of the Glass Art Society, The International Society of Glass Beadmakers, and The Pittsburgh Craftmen’s Guild. His work is available in galleries nationwide and has been featured in numerous art magazines and publications – his glass insects are some of the finest examples of lampwork worldwide.
Fig will be one of the superstar lampworkers that will be teaching in the new lampworking program this fall at the Washington Glass School. The weekend class will be held October 9 & 10.
Inspired by nature, Fig will cover covers techniques for sculpting various insects from torchworked glass – both literal renderings of insects and more abstract interpretations.
Students will learn to work with soft glass while observing nature. Students will explore heat control, cane pulling and the basics of soft glass sculpting.
Michael Mangiafico working a demo during the recent ISGB conference in Rochester, NY.
For more information on the upcoming lampworking class click HERE.
Click HERE to jump to Fig’s website.
Update from ISGB Lampwork Conference in Rochester
>Robert Kincheloe has been having a great time at the ISGB Conference. He has been working with some lampworking superstars like Michael Mangiafico.
Michael “Fig” Mangiacio performs a torchwork demo for the conference.
Robert has also been working on a collaborative piece with Milon Townsend.
Milon Townsend
Milon Townsend uses modern technological innovations, traditional Italian techniques such as murrine and filigrana, and flamework methods that he himself has developed to create the sculptures that appear in his mind. He has taught at RIT’s School of the American Craftsman, at Urban Glass in NYC, been a visiting artist at RISD and is a regular teacher at The Studio at the Corning Museum. His artwork is in the permanent collections of the Carnegie Museum of Art, American Glass Museum, and the National Liberty Museum.
The collaborative piece involves integrating Robert Kincheloe’s cast borosilicate glass figures with Milon’s lampworked glass. Below is one of the larger sculptures:
Cast and flameworked borosilicate glass.
Robert Kincheloe & Milon Townsend
Robert at Niagra Falls. Slowly he turns…