Josh Simpson: Glass Artist (Hardcover)

by Andrew Chaikin (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Josh Simpson's glass platters, vessels and sculptures are celebrated internationally for their extraordinary, complex beauty. His imaginary landscapes of the seas, skies and heavens are compelling and enigmatic. They are also technical feats without parallel.

This book steps inside Simpson's studio and provides an intimate look at the inspirations, experiences and techniques Simpson uses to create his wondrous glass worlds. Readers will witness first-hand the drama of hot glass processes and learn many of the small technical secrets that elevate his art beyond the ordinary. Dazzling photographs of Simpson's work complement this behind-the-scenes glimpse into his creative genius.

About the Author
Josh Simpson's remarkable blown glass is in the collections of more than twenty major museums around the world. His wife is astronaut Cady Coleman, whose space travels inspire much of his art. They live in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts. Andrew Chaikin is the executive editor of Space.com and Space Illustrated magazine.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 126 pages
• Publisher: Guild Publishing (April 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893164098
• ISBN-13: 978-1893164093
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,097,366 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book, next best thing to being there., October 20, 2001

By	George D. Girton (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

February of 2001 found me on a hilltop next to an old barn about ten miles from the Vermont border. It was cold out, that's for sure. New England winter is no joke!

Soon, however, I was sweltering, as I was being ushered through the hot attic of an old barn, past row after row of thick rods of colored glass, and down onto the working floor of Josh Simpson's hot shop.

I was standing there, a couple of paces from four or five furnaces, fiery orange crucibles of molten glass, watching T-shirted apprentices clad in protective eye-shields, colored to keep out heat and ultraviolet radiation, when a friendly man I had never seen before showed up at my left elbow.

"Hi, I'm Josh," he said, and as we chatted about glass art, and how he started out with glass to begin with, he told me some of the stories you can read in this excellent book.

The book gives you photographs showing how his beautiful glass `megaplanets', intricate and astounding, have been inspired by ice, by scenery, and by crystal-clear, detailed, yet strangely unfamiliar views of the earth from space. The close-up photos of Josh's pieces of glass art are startling. You can really see why glass is the most-collected stuff in the world.

Andrew Chaikin describes exactly how Josh makes a megaplanet, a challenging process illustrated with some of the most evocative photographs of molten glass you can imagine.

That's interesting enough as it is, but the second part of the book, where you can clearly see Josh's artistic imagination at work, and almost hear him talk as he writes in a warm, autobiographical voice, is intriguing.

This book comes as close as you can get to being in Josh Simpson's brain and seeing the images in the world which inspire his glass art, and then actually visiting Josh Simpson's studio to see him create it.

If you're at all interested in glass art, "Josh Simpson: Glass Artist" is definitely worth reading.

P.S. Getting the book will be a lot less uncomfortable than actually being in the hot shop, which I believe is probably not open to the public.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Have!, February 13, 2004

By	M. Perez-Bastian "qotbeads" (Traverse City, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Incredible details and history of Josh Simpson's Megaworlds. The artist shares the journey of one of his basketball size Megaworlds from start to completion, amazing. I was mesmerized by the beautiful pictures of his Megaworlds. I highly recommend this book to glass collectors and those who work with glass. Inspiring all around.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A little disappointed, January 15, 2007

By	Lynn L. Northup (West Kingston, RI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Purchased this book as a gift for a friend who collects Josh Simpson glass.Seller said the book was pristine--which it was--but the jacket had a scratch on it. When the book came there was a large scratch on the cover which might have been alright if the seller did not try to cover it up with magic marker!! That made it look even worse. Had to take of the jacket. Also I bought the book for $15 plus s/h which I don't remember being mentioned. OK that was fine but when I got the book, the large price sticker on the jacket,which would not come off (!!!), was a large $10. Thought that was a little cheezy.