Blue Vessels ‘Beyond Words I’ by Roberta Mason

Mysterious blue vessels that capture the essence of the deep.

Part of the ‘Beyond Words’ series by Wales-based artist Roberta Mason.

The series tries to capture the alluring beauty of the world’s oceans.

Made using re-melted, repurposed and recycled glass.

Roberta is a keen diver and used her artistic skills to try and convey the beauty of this captivating watery underworld.

Artist’s Statement

In the wonderful book, ‘Silence in the Age of Noise’, Norwegian Explorer, Erling Kagge speaks about “the way that words create boundaries for our experiences.” How we can sometimes spend so much time trying to find the words to describe an amazing experience that we don’t concentrate on the experience itself. That’s why I love diving. It’s essentially non-verbal. A profound, highly visual, sensory experience that is truly beyond words. Shared only with those that were there, in a smile or a look – few words, yet profound memories. Each piece in the Beyond Words collection comes from a lifetime of these experiences/memories. A celebration of all the beauty we see, the emotions we feel, the sounds we hear, all our loves and memories that take us beyond the bounds of language. Created using repurposed and remelted waste glass from my studio in West Wales.

Blue Vessels Artist

Roberta Mason Glass artist is the huge talent behind these blue vessels and a burgeoning star within her field. Her work is strongly influenced by water, her kiln forming and hot glass techniques creating masterpieces that explore perspectives, as well as our relationship with the environment.

Roberta’s first exhibition was in 2010, and her latest works are on display at the Glass Pyramid Gallery in York. By attending Master Classes in glass, Roberta is constantly expanding her knowledge, as well as strengthening and perfecting her techniques. An artist with unstoppable energy, Roberta was highly commended in 2015 by the Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers. In 2016, she won a scholarship to attend her Master Classes with Dr Gerry King.

Roberta’s relationship with glass and water could best be described as a passionate love affair. By understanding the properties of glass, its opacity, and transparency, Roberta creates works of art that contain depth and inner narratives. Taking her inspiration from Aristotle and his quote “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance,” Roberta is an artist, who is constantly evolving, her latest interest being in 3D Design.

Artist Statement

It’s been such a strange year of change, isolation and separation, so in the midst of this new, temporary normal, I found myself thinking about the state of the world, the sometimes miraculous healing of wild places as we withdrew and the beauty of nature. I have been inspired by the conservation messaging of ‘we care for the things we love’ and the people who work tirelessly and passionately to show us why we should care.  The first of my two new collections for 2020, Old Ice is inspired by the beautiful and evocative aerial images of Greenland by the artist and advocate, Roger Fishman. I was moved to make this work when I saw his images and researched the accelerating loss of ice mass due to climate change, which is now exposing ice from the last ice age. The beautiful colours, forms and patterns seem to belie the reality.

I have used forms based on water vessels as a conduit for the imagery, as we often seem to use the earth and her oceans as a commodity…let’s change that…

“Every day is a new opportunity to begin again” HH the Dalai Lama & AB Desmond Tutu

#bethechange #climatechange #oldice #lasticeage #ice #oceaninspired #scienceandart