Josh Simpson creates planets that are midway between the micro and the macro. They have some of the mystery of the atomic level and much of the complexity of the cosmic.
- Neil Armststrong, Commander, Apollo II
Anneal, caliper, cane, chord, chill mark, fritt, jack, lear, marver, parison, punty, pegging … these are just a dozen terms in the vast glossary of glassblowing. The obscure words speak to a craft that’s so hard and frustrating, so unpredictable and mercurial, that few undertake it.
What is glass? It is an enigma: hard as flint and also the definition of fragility. It is made from sand and metallic oxide that’s heated to 2,000 degrees centigrade and then cooled. When hot, it is fluid and malleable like honey and, kept molten and in constant motion, it can be manipulated into various forms. Once cooled, it is an amphorous solid, hard and chemically inert, but it can also be persnickety – if adjustments in time and temperature in the making don’t work out, the glass cracks. Producing a pane of glass is one thing; creating a dense globe with a full palette of color, form, and texture is another.
Josh Simpson of Shelburne, Massachusetts, is a master glassblower – one of the top artisans of his craft in the world. Simpson is probably best known for his other-worldly glass spheres full of imaginary landscapes. These planets, born of fire, reflect his decades long interest in astronomy. During the 1970s, while exploring glassblowing at Vermont’s Goddard College, Simpson was inspired by the photographs emerging from NASA’s Apollo program. For the first time, we all saw our earth as a beautiful blue marble hanging in space. Simpson’s spherical creations grew out of those first images. In his globes, we can imagine different worlds, different ecosystems with their own oceans, green mountains, circuitous rivers, sand bars, coral reefs, orbiting satellites – reconfigurations of all the things we know.
In a world where most art hangs on a museum wall and docents wag a finger if you step too close, it is the most wonderful feeling to hold a weighty, smooth glass orb, full of an imaginary biosphere, in the palm of your hand.
Josh Simpson’s work is displayed in museums and public collections worldwide. His Salmon Falls Gallery in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, is open to the public year round. “Where Earth Meets Sky,” a PBS production, provides a hands-on explanation of his glassblowing process. The public is encouraged to participate in The Infinity Project.