"Iridescence" Memory Jug by Michael Thompson

Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his travels. In his ongoing series of memory jugs, Thompson adorns stoneware vessels with a kaleidoscope of ceramic shards, found objects, and pocket-sized trinkets he collected over the course of his life. Also known as forget-me-not jugs or spirit jars, memory jugs are African American folk art objects that honor a loved one who has recently passed. Small tokens and mementos of the deceased are gathered and affixed to the exterior of a jug or vase, an abundance of memories that celebrates a life lived to the fullest. Michael Thompson applies this tradition to his own practice, creating tactile assemblages of this and that. Formed in the manner of collage, each jug honors the lost memories of generations past and his own memories of personally discovering each item. With varied sources for materials including Kyoto, Turkey, and Mexico, a great number of the found shards are 18th and 19th century ceramics...

Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his travels. In his ongoing series of memory jugs, Thompson adorns stoneware vessels with a kaleidoscope of ceramic shards, found objects, and pocket-sized trinkets he collected over the course of his life. Also known as forget-me-not jugs or spirit jars, memory jugs are African American folk art objects that honor a loved one who has recently passed. Small tokens and mementos of the deceased are gathered and affixed to the exterior of a jug or vase, an abundance of memories that celebrates a life lived to the fullest. Michael Thompson applies this tradition to his own practice, creating tactile assemblages of this and that. Formed in the manner of collage, each jug honors the lost memories of generations past and his own memories of personally discovering each item. With varied sources for materials including Kyoto, Turkey, and Mexico, a great number of the found shards are 18th and 19th century ceramics...

Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his travels. In his ongoing series of memory jugs, Thompson adorns stoneware vessels with a kaleidoscope of ceramic shards, found objects, and pocket-sized trinkets he collected over the course of his life. Also known as forget-me-not jugs or spirit jars, memory jugs are African American folk art objects that honor a loved one who has recently passed. Small tokens and mementos of the deceased are gathered and affixed to the exterior of a jug or vase, an abundance of memories that celebrates a life lived to the fullest. Michael Thompson applies this tradition to his own practice, creating tactile assemblages of this and that. Formed in the manner of collage, each jug honors the lost memories of generations past and his own memories of personally discovering each item. With varied sources for materials including Kyoto, Turkey, and Mexico, a great number of the found shards are 18th and 19th century ceramics...

Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his travels. In his ongoing series of memory jugs, Thompson adorns stoneware vessels with a kaleidoscope of ceramic shards, found objects, and pocket-sized trinkets he collected over the course of his life. Also known as forget-me-not jugs or spirit jars, memory jugs are African American folk art objects that honor a loved one who has recently passed. Small tokens and mementos of the deceased are gathered and affixed to the exterior of a jug or vase, an abundance of memories that celebrates a life lived to the fullest. Michael Thompson applies this tradition to his own practice, creating tactile assemblages of this and that. Formed in the manner of collage, each jug honors the lost memories of generations past and his own memories of personally discovering each item. With varied sources for materials including Kyoto, Turkey, and Mexico, a great number of the found shards are 18th and 19th century ceramics...

'Panorama Iridescence' is a unique artwork by the British artist, Bethany Wood. An equal passion for painting physically inspires how she controls and manipulates her glass. Recreating the fleeting nature of brush strokes, Wood’s molten colours traverse across the surface of her glass canvases blending in a myriad of hues. Unlike their flat painterly counterparts, these combine and merge, forming spontaneous watery and lava like abstract relief flourishes. Taking inspiration from a wide range of sources, Wood’s influences are taken directly from the world around us, elements of the inner-city sit alongside expansive landscapes. Reoccurring themes are Graffiti & Urban Culture, exploration & travel. In the artist's own words; "As a multidisciplinary artist, I have begun to merge my two artistic passions, painting and Glassmaking. I like to express myself with the fluidity of the material. The Directional arrangement of a colour palette can form the depth of an abstract Landscape. I use my own paintings as a reference whilst making in the hot shop. Each individual artwork from my series has been inspired by a specific place. Serendipity of abstraction has always been an inspiration for me; the coincidental elements which catch the eye of the viewer. The palette, composition and depth I have attained are taken from nature, with a bold but elegant swipe of my own personal, Expressionist style" Rising glass star, Wood graduated from De Montfort...

About 'Imaginary Friend' in Gudrun's words: This piece derives from the sing-song nineteenth century nursery rhyme that begins, “A-tisket, a-tasket, a green and yellow basket. I wrot...

Temptation I, is a hand-blown glass sculpture by the collaborative artists Hanne Enemark (Danish) and Louis Thompson (British) Incorporating an outer form in clear and pink glass which contains a multitude of white glass canes and candy-colored, glass hundreds and thousands. The piece is topped with a glass cherry with a silver sterling stem...

About 'Mother Basket' in Gudrun's words: We expect so much from our mothers, but often they are too tired and ill equipped to give us anywhere near the love we crave. Instead of bein...