CLICK IT! Featured Artist: Carmen Lozar
Carmen Lozar‘s glass sculptures inspires and provoke imagination. Telling stories has always been her primary objective. Some narratives are sad, funny, or thoughtful but artworks are always about celebrating life. Carmen lives in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois where she maintains a studio and is a member of the art faculty at Illinois Wesleyan University. She has taught at Pilchuck Glass School, Penland School of Craft, Pittsburgh Glass School, Appalachian Center for Crafts, The Chrysler Museum, and the Glass Furnace in Istanbul, Turkey. She has had residencies at the Corning Museum of Glass and Penland School of Craft. Although she travels abroad to teach and share her love for glass – most recently to Turkey, Italy, and New Zealand – she always returns to her Midwestern roots.
Washington Glass School blog catches up with Carmen as her work is part of the WGS Contemporary online exhibit “CLICK-IT!”
Carmen Lozar
Washington Glass School (WGS): Describe your artwork method/process.
Carmen Lozar: I work with rods and tubes of borosilicate glass at a torch. Flameworking lends itself to small intimate pieces, the type I most enjoy making. The process requires concentration, years of skill building and many, many generous mentors who are willing to share their knowledge.
Caremen Lozar, “Bubble Gum”, 2019, Flameworked glass, found object, 3″x 2″x 6″
WGS: Describe your work in the show and highlight aspects that the viewers should understand about the work.
Carmen Lozar: The work is the show is meant to be intimate and accessible, highlighting human follies in a lighthearted way. The bubble gum pieces are about the sticky messes we continually put ourselves in but also the ridiculous and stretchy nature of glass as a material. To me, much of the work is both funny and sad.
The ketchup and mustard piece, Fight, is about the continual small spats that my daughters engage in daily. I know that they love each other and work well together but this does not stop them from ongoing sibling rivalry. This piece makes light of their arguments knowing they will pass and, in a way, preserving my sanity.
Carmen Lozar, “Fight”, Flameworked glass and found object. 3″H x 8″L x 2″D
WGS: How have you handled the Covid lockdown?
Carmen Lozar: I have been oscillating between enjoying a quiet summer and completely freaking out. There is so much to process and digest that I am sure the landscape of what we make will change as a result. I believe an entirely new aesthetic will result as a product of the pandemic and unrest.
Image from Carmen Lozar’s sketchbook.
WGS: Do you do a lot of planning in your work – or is there an element of chance while working?
Carmen Lozar: I do a lot of planning before I begin a new artwork, usually beginning with several drawings in my sketchbook. I usually stick to the drawing/idea pretty closely although if there are too many repetitive parts in the piece I will simplify. I have a short attention span and making the same objects over and over, while I love the way it looks, is difficult for me.
WGS: if you were not an artist – what would you be?
Carmen Lozar: An allergist.
WGS: What is your rule of thumb in determining when a work is finished?
Carmen Lozar: You get a crazy wonderful rush of adrenaline that you cannot find anywhere else!
Click here to jump to Carmen Lozar’s work in CLICK-IT!
Click HERE to jump to the show.