Featured Artist Lee Sorg

Glass artist Lee Sorg’s works, both functional and decorative, are alive with rich, vibrant color and modern lines. Visit his website to learn more about this artist and his work.

 

 

As an artist, it’s the relationship between colors and the energy between them that gets me excited. I love color, not only bright chromatic colors, but muted tones, and sometimes achromatic ones as well. Where some might see a dull palette, I see a beautiful mood that tells a story. The artists that have influenced me the most are Kandinsky, Miro and Van Gogh. It’s their strong use of color that pulls me into their work.

 

 

I start my creative process with selecting a color combination that inspires me. Color influence is everywhere if you have your eyes open—in nature, the city, in media and the arts. When I see a stunning palette, I capture it and bring it into my studio so that I have a color stimulator ready to work with when I need inspiration.

 

 

There’s always a story going on in my head when I’m creating a new piece. I find myself treating inanimate shapes as if they are alive. I ask myself, what is this shape saying? What influence does it have with the other shapes and colors? Is there harmony or conflict with these images?

 

 

In the process of deciding what’s working and what’s not, I try to achieve a sense of balance. I believe there can be a feeling of balance and order even when the final piece appears to be the result of a random execution.

 

 

My SPLASH glass series is an example of this—here there are thousands of glass chips that are placed into a form and fused together. With this seemingly loose process, at the core there is a balanced relationship of colors and shapes that define the personality of the finished piece.

 

 

I am both a fused glass artist and professional graphic designer. Visual problem solving is at the heart of both these roles. I think of myself as an artist who uses a thoughtful creative process knowing well that every action has a reaction.

 

 

However, it’s not all logic-based analysis for me—I need to feel a chemistry, a connection with my creation. Before moving into final production on a glass piece, I ask myself one last question—am I in love with what I have created? Because if not, I won’t move forward until I am.

 

 

Of all the art mediums I have worked with, glass is the one that resonates with me the most. People have been working with glass for more than 5,000 years because of its versatility and amazing appeal.

 

 

It fascinates me that loose earth elements, through a heat conversion process, can be harnessed and transformed into a beautiful three-dimensional form. It’s fair to say that creating fused glass art requires an understanding of science as well as talent.

 

 

My goal is to create fused glass art that brings pleasure and lights up the space it’s been placed in. A great quote from Neil Gaiman sums it up best, “The world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before.”

 

Artist Lee Sorg invites you to follow him on Instagram and Etsy.

 

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