Keep
\bur
Damn
Flowers
R a n d i S o lin d id n ’t come n aturally to glass.
B u t her unique, robust pieces sta n d on th eir own.
s t o r y b y
K a th erin e Jam ieson
p h o t o g r a p h y
h y J o e l B a ld w in
R A N D I S O L IN d o e s n ’t W A N T Y O U T O P U T
flowers in her glasswork. Instead, she’s
adamant that you see her pieces for what
they are: abstract expressionist art closer
to paintings than fragile bud vases. Solin
deals in substance; her works average 12
to 15 pounds of glass, with a thick, transpar-
ent exterior layer acting as a window on a
colorful, lucent interior image. And while
her vessels have openings, that doesn’t
mean they’re waiting to be filled. “They
have a hole in them because they’re made
with a glass blower; that’s it,” she says.
Solin never expected to be an artist.
Growing up outside Washington, D.C., in
the 19 70s, she became interested in politics
at a young age. When she was 12, her family
moved to Manchester, Vermont, and she
re-established her high school’s student
council, dormant for decades, and organized
one of the first pro-choice rallies in the state.
“I wanted to be a senator. I wanted to affect
people’s lives,” she says. When she toured
Alfred University, her father’s alma mater,
she planned to pursue political science. But
a trip to the art department changed all that.
Walking on a dark catwalk, she looked down
and saw what appeared to be liquid light; it
was an artist blowing glass. “I thought, what-
ever he’s doing, I’m going to do,” she says.
Solin had never taken an art class, but
she was accepted to the New York State
Top:
Greenland, 2011
glass, silver foil
22 x 11 x 8 in.
Left:
Mykannos, 2005
glass, silver foil
7 x 7 in. dia.
054 american craft dec/jani2
