Joey Kirkpatrick
American, born 1952Flora C. Mace
American, born 1949Red Apple, 2005
On view
Blown glass
Dimensions16 × 18 × 16 in. (40.6 × 45.7 × 40.6 cm)
Courtesy of the Isabel Foundation, L2017.85
Joey Kirkpatrick and Flora Mace began their collaboration at Pilchuck Glass School in 1979, where they worked alongside Dale Chihuly, William Morris, and other key figures in the studio glass movement. Since that time they have explored many themes, but the duo is most well known for their oversized fruit and vegetables. The process of making these two gigantic apples is unique. Although it starts like traditional glassblowing where an artist inflates and forms gathered molten glass on the end of a blowpipe, Kirkpatrick and Mace colored the glass in a gradual manner. They slowly built layers of color by sifting pigmented crushed glass powders onto the hot glass while it is being blown to size. This approach evolved out of their experience with painting and drawing where the medium is typically applied gradually. They were excited to find a method that produced the painterly surface, realistic colors, and textures that they were seeking.
