No Green Berries or Leaves: The Creative Journey of an Artist in Glass [Hardcover]

Paul J. Stankard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2007

No Green Berries or Leaves is a collection of autobiographical essays by Paul J. Stankard, recognized widely as one of the world s master glass artists. Stankard is particularly renowned and respected for his flameworked floral motifs expressed in crystal paperweights, rectangular columns, and orbs.

Paul was trained in scientific glassblowing and worked in industrial scientific glass during most of the 1960s. Challenged by an inner sense of creativity and the need to establish his creative independence, he started making paperweights in the early 1970s. Attracted to the emerging studio glass movement, recognized as a maker of fine paperweights, and driven by an intense and incessant pursuit of excellence, Paul was by the 1980s recognized as a highly accomplished glass artist, a member of the pioneering generation of glass artists in America. As the emotional, intellectual, and spiritual dimensions of his art matured, and as he continued to develop new techniques for expressing his art, he also assumed more prominent influence in the development of educational programs and institutions that celebrated and expanded art in glass. Throughout his life, Paul also wrestled with, and learned how to succeed in spite of, a learning disability dyslexia.

No Green Berries or Leaves presents the author s record of his life as a struggling, then highly successful, artist; reveals insights into the challenges he faced as a dyslexic and how he came to understand, then circumvent, his disability; and records his perspectives on the history of the studio glass movement in America as he witnessed and experienced it during the past fifty years. This book will be of value to readers interested in the life of a major American artist and the history of the glass art movement in America, as well as to those looking for an inspirational story of how, in one man, the human spirit faced, addressed, and outwitted a learning disability and climbed the steep road to success to become a master artist in glass.

The hardcover copies of No Green Berries or Leaves offered here are the last available hardcover copies of this title -- they are parts of a limited edition that were autographed by the author, numbered individually from 1 through 300, and dated on the day of release -- 15 September 2007.

Editorial Reviews

Review

World renowned artist Paul Stankard, who pioneered modern flameworking techniques in glass art, insightfully reflects upon his life-long personal challenges with dyslexia and how he overcame these obstacles in his continuing pursuit of knowledge. As one of the eminent glass artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, his is a story that inspires, educates, and encourages us all. He has earned our deepest admiration. --Dr. Anne Steele, President, Muskingum College, New Concord, OH

America's premier lampworker has written a richly detailed emotional reminiscence of his search to find a meaningful life. This book gives the reader a glimpse into his life and how through extraordinary perseverance he eventually transformed the lampworker's torch from its historic tradition into a compelling tool for contemporary glass artists. --Henry Halam, Kent State University, Kent, OH

In this honest and intimate autobiography, Paul Stankard describes his life and his work in unabashed detail. Guided by his faith and supported by his loving wife and family, he has led an ideal life, not so much out of good fortune, but out of living and working in goodness. Here is a man who has gotten it right, and who has taken the time to share it with us in the very medium that is most difficult for him. We are all the richer for it. --Robert Mickelsen, Glass Artist, Melbourne, FL

America's premier lampworker has written a richly detailed emotional reminiscence of his search to find a meaningful life. This book gives the reader a glimpse into his life and how through extraordinary perseverance he eventually transformed the lampworker's torch from its historic tradition into a compelling tool for contemporary glass artists. --Henry Halam, Kent State University, Kent, OH

In this honest and intimate autobiography, Paul Stankard describes his life and his work in unabashed detail. Guided by his faith and supported by his loving wife and family, he has led an ideal life, not so much out of good fortune, but out of living and working in goodness. Here is a man who has gotten it right, and who has taken the time to share it with us in the very medium that is most difficult for him. We are all the richer for it. --Robert Mickelsen, Glass Artist, Melbourne, FL

About the Author

Paul Joseph Stankard was born in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, and, during his teens, moved with his family to Wenonah, New Jersey. He graduated from Pitman High School in Pitman, New Jersey, and Salem County Vocational Technical Institute in Salem, New Jersey, and then worked for a number of firms in the scientific glass field in New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, and Pennsylvania until he went into full-time paperweight-making in the early 1970s. He soon became an established and accepted artist in glass, and today is recognized throughout the world for the quality and beauty of his intricately detailed objects of nature especially floral assemblages that are expressed in glass. Paul also regularly participates in programs at such iconic centers of glass-art education as WheatonArts, Salem Community College, Penland School of Crafts, and the Corning Museum of Glass. For nearly forty years, Paul, with is wife Pat and their family, has lived and created art in Mantua, New Jersey.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company; Original edition (September 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0939923696
• ISBN-13: 978-0939923694
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,227,588 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rare look into the heart of a master craftsman, February 7, 2008

By 

J. H. Severstad (Neenah, WI United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: No Green Berries or Leaves: The Creative Journey of an Artist in Glass (Hardcover)

Paul Stankard, by all accounts one of the most recognized and successful glass artists alive today, has collected his experiences from decades of work with hot glass into a small tome of reminiscences. His memories are organized into a dozen and a half essays, loosely chronological but often overlapping, doubling back upon, and fleshing out earlier episodes. Additional materials include 32 full-color pages of photographs after the Epilogue, and an unexpected but handy Index following that. All of this is bundled within a thoughtfully-designed cover that cradles Mr. Stankard's prose in tones of green and cranberry.

While short in length (183 pages, not including the Foreword and Preface), No Green Berries or Leaves is densely packed with feeling and reflection. Despite the weight of the material, it is a quick and easy read, owing to the fact that the voice which comes through is Paul's. It resembles more a story he might share over a cup of coffee rather than a piece of print. It is this quality, coupled with the way the book is broken down into small bites of his life rather than chronological chapters, that is the underlying strength of the book. No lofty phrasing or clinical assessments are found here, just plain words written with warmth, thought, and honesty.

Paul gives more than just a standard re-telling of how he got here from there. History is interwoven with artistic philosophies, psychological states, and spiritual beliefs, resulting in a story rich with detail and meaning. He relates his youthful dreams, training, and creative yearnings that led to career changes, but also reveals personal struggles with a learning disability, anxiety, and nagging self-esteem issues, all of which culminate in the development of Paul Stankard the artist, family man, friend, mentor, and human being.

Several themes are reinforced throughout: hard work, perseverance, the importance of continually educating one's self, harmony with Nature and its Maker, and gratitude, to name a few. Paul is forthright about the difficulties he endured, but also encourages his readers that if he was able to overcome those to become the acknowledged glass master he is, others can do the same through hard work, dedication, and faith in one's abilities. He strives to be an inspiration to others just as he was mentored throughout his career. His appreciation to all of the people who played a part in his journey flows through the pages, another prominent layer to the book and the person.

For the paperweight enthusiast, this book offers a rare look into the heart of a master craftsman, delving into what originally inspired him to take up the torch to recreate those lovely handfuls of glass, what drives him to push the boundaries of the genre, and how the medium's siren call draws him ever closer into communion with its mysteries.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must for All on a Creative Path, November 30, 2007

By 

Steven Sizelove - See all my reviews
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This review is from: No Green Berries or Leaves: The Creative Journey of an Artist in Glass (Hardcover)

Mr. Stankard's story, at it's core, resonates with me. As a enthusiast of glass art, I expected to be interested in his journey, but I did not anticipate Mr. Stankard's level of candor and honesty. The combination of his balancing act of family, his struggle with dyslexia, and the pursuit of excellence is more than an inspirational story, it's an affirmation of life as an artist.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very inspiring and informative, January 19, 2008

By 

Wesley Fleming - See all my reviews
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This review is from: No Green Berries or Leaves: The Creative Journey of an Artist in Glass (Hardcover)

I found it very inspiring and informative to read about Paul Stankard's path as a glass artist, including his stuggles and triumphs. Not only was this an entertaining read, but I also relate to some of the tribulations Paul has faced along his path and I really connect with his love for nature. As a glass artist myself, I find it comforting to see that with perseverance, one can find the right path and eventually be successful doing what one loves to do. Thank you Paul for sharing so deeply and honestly of your experiences.