corporate gifts / epiphany / january 2003
april wagner was commissioned by ZF Group North American to create the gifts for the company’s guests at the preview party for the North American International Auto Show in 2003. she was also asked to create the centerpieces for each of the tables at the event. using the company’s signature theme color of royal blue, the artists created a striped splash free form, specially numbered, signed and dated to commemorate the evening. the silver striping and silver lip added prestige to the pieces and reflected the nature of the event. the vases were designed and arranged with flowers to tie in with the ‘South Beach’ theme of the evening.
april was asked to give a presentation during the event. below is an excerpt from april’s speech:
auto show preview party, january 10, 2003
“Tonight we are surrounded by the automotive world’s creative ‘tour de force’. Every year this event highlights and celebrates an incredible marriage of industry and artistry. I’m sure it was this sentiment that helped Wolfgang and ZF decide to give you a piece of art, specially designed, signed, dated and numbered, to commemorate this special evening. I am extremely honored to have been chosen to make these gifts. As well as making the blown glass vases, which decorate these tables, and two sculptures pieces against the wall.
I have been working for almost 10 years now. I graduated, with BFA degrees, from the College for Creative Studies, which many of you know is located here in Detroit. I have been very fortunate in my life to have chosen a career that continually engages me. When I first told my parents I wanted to be an artist, I’m sure they thought I would grow out of it. When it didn’t look that was going to happen they tried really hard to convince me that art history was the best way to go. But to no avail.
I tried many different mediums, painting, photography, ceramics, and then I saw someone blow glass. It was a spiritual experience. I knew instantly that that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. a year or so later I had this dream. I knew glass was the medium that in which I would create masterpieces. So after graduating from college, I started my business and named it epiphany.
I choose the name epiphany, because of its definition which is: insight into the essence of an object and/or material. This very accurately describes how I feel about the process of creation. It is reflected in every piece we make, and often how we approach life in general. Understanding the essence of a thing, helps in defining your relationship to it. The name epiphany also signifies that this work is a collaborative effort.
The gifts I have created for you this evening were hand blown in our studio in Pontiac. It is one of the largest private studios in the country outside of Seattle. These pieces are from the ‘Striped Splash’ series. Each one is similar, but still one of a kind. I often like to reference a traditional Italian technique called ‘fazzelleto’, which means free form. I have reinterpreted in this free form style to reflect our understanding of glass as a molten material.
We purchase our glass as the raw elements of sand, soda ash and limestone. We mix and melt these raw materials in an 800 pound furnace at 2400 degrees, which after 24 hours combine to create the molten glass. This glass is gathered out of the furnace on the end of 5′ stainless steel tube called a blow pipe. The process resembles twirling a stick in honey to get it out the jar. When the glass has cooled slightly you can continue to gather over it, until you have the amount of glass necessary to create the scale of piece that want to make. You then begin blowing and shaping the glass using various methods and tools, including wood blocks, newspaper, or steel.
One of the special tools we used on the gifts that we made for you was called a reduction. The reduction traps the silver and gold molecules on the surface of the piece. Silver and gold are minerals used to create special colors, but bringing them to the surface in true form is a difficult and lengthy process. Another unique aspect of these pieces is that before the piece is finished it is spun from a ball form to a completely flat plate, and then free hand sculpted into the final shape. This is the most intense and difficult time during the piece. There is a constant battle between gravity, centrifugal force, heat, and strength. The glassblower’s job is to understand and capitalize on each of these factors.
It’s not easy to work with a material you never touch with your hands. You only understand how it feels through your tools. The whole process really becomes a dance. The glassblower works with her tools, and her partner in series of chirographer steps, that all play an important role. Any misstep can ruin the piece beyond repair, or seriously injury someone.
Glass is a dynamic, living material, which is forever showing you new facets of itself. It is demanding both physically, and spiritually. Ours is a constant effort to understand this material and to push it to the extreme. I’m never bored with this challenge, and feel very passionately about what we do. We are forever grateful to individuals and companies like ZF, for their support, which has allowed us to pursue our life’s dream.
