A guiding force in American glassblowing, Moore taught at Pilchuck for numerous yrs, introduced in Italian grasp glassmakers to expand the plan, and affected legions of artists (including local glass stars Preston Singletary and Dante Marioni) by way of his individual studio.
I interviewed him just the moment, for a tale I wrote in Seattle journal nearly 10 yrs ago, “How Seattle Turned the Epicenter of Glass Art.”
This purple and grey “Palla” established is exemplary of Benjamin Moore’s signature, pristine traces. (Russell Johnson)
I keep in mind remaining anxious about contacting this giant of glass — Moore loomed in my thoughts as a VIP, who together with Dale Chihuly (his mentor) assisted shape the U.S. studio glass movement. His artistic design is geometrically flawless — all spheres, rings and cylinders, with strong colors suspended as if in drinking water, or in orbit. But on the mobile phone, he straight away place me at relieve with his kindness and a amusing comment I no more time remember, although I do remember the relief of laughing.
ArtSEA: Notes on Northwest Culture is Crosscut’s weekly arts & tradition e-newsletter.
When I interviewed Debora Moore, his spouse and fellow glass artist, for a 2019 Crosscut tale about her possess wonderful get the job done, I imagined probably I would finally meet Benjamin (“Benny,” as his group understood him) in man or woman, at the studio and very hot store the two shared for decades in the Chinatown-Global District. Turned out he wasn’t around that working day, but his operate on screen spoke for alone, its silent purity of type a variety of buzzing meditation.