SIGNATURE SIMPSON GLASS

New Mexico Glass is a variegated crystalline blue glass full of swirling currents and pinpricks of light. The vibrant patterns are reminiscent of a starry night or even a map of the stars, or the might also resemble Hubble Telescope photos of great nebulae, topographic maps of dramatic alien terrain, and/or a stormy ocean full of turbulent waters and crashing waves. New Mexico glass is made by melting metallic silver onto the molten surface of a dark glass, then carefully controlling the temperature and flow of oxygen and propane into the glass furnace as the piece is formed, thereby enhancing and enriching the color.

Red New Mexico Glass, which resembles the red rock landscapes of the American Southwest or perhaps even the planet Mars, results from first adding copper into the raw glass mixture and then dramatically reducing the oxygen in the reheating flame.

Desert New Mexico Glass Created by applying reactive silver to clear glass, this glass changes color from dusky gold to rich blue when viewed against a dark background or filled with a dark liquid.

Corona Glass is a substance that Josh first developed by experimenting with glass chemistry in the mid-80’s. When molten, this unpredictable material is affected by temperature, humidity and many other factors, but when everything works out well, the resulting glass contains swirls and splashes of vibrant color. Its final appearance can be like a splash of liquid fire, an eddy of melted light, or an exploding galaxy such as one might see in Hubble Telescope imagery. 

Tektite glass: Years ago, a friend gave Josh a small glass meteorite known as a tektite (from the Greek tektos, meaning molten). This primeval lump, blackened and pitted from its fiery journey through Earth’s atmosphere, seemed like the opposite of “perfect” crystal being made by major glass companies. But then Josh thought:  this object—made in the heavens before humans existed— was truly the perfect crystal. Months later a geologist friend did a spectrographic analysis of that meteorite, and Josh re-created that formula in his studio. The result: a coarse lava-like substance, impossible to blow, his own synthetic Tektite glass.

Cane is rod made of bundled strands of glass that have been arranged in patterns and layers, then heated, fused, and stretched to become thinner and thinner rods that contain the same pattern… but in miniature. Josh uses cane to form the imaginative structures, details and spaceships within Planets, as well as to create the stretched lattice patterns of Spacetime Platters, Bowls and Vases.

Spaceships are imaginary spacecraft Josh creates from segments of his own handmade cane, which he sets into orbit in the atmosphere of Inhabited Planets.

Josiah Signature: Josh signs a piece of glass “Josiah” when it is one of his favorites, usually because it turned out very close to what he had in mind while making that piece… or sometimes because it’s just especially beautiful even if different from his plan. “Josiah” is Josh’s given name; it is also the name of his father and elder son.

SIMPSON GLASS SERIES

Planets are solid glass worlds that might exist in distant galaxies and universes. They contain continents teeming with life, mountains and forests, winding rivers, sandy beaches, and swirling oceans, while clouds or spaceships drift in the atmosphere above. Planets range in size from as small as 1.75” diameter to Megaplanets that may be larger than 12” and weigh more than 100 lbs.

Inhabited Planets are worlds that contain some evidence of habitation, such as structures, cities, or signs of advanced technology.

Possibly Inhabited Planets contain no clear evidence that civilizations reside there… but they leave this possibility to our imagination.

Cloud Planets (aka Waterworlds), are unlike classic Simpson Planets that are made with opaque New Mexico or Corona glass. Instead, these worlds have translucent cores and an aqueous appearance, with vaporous clouds above and rafts of colorful cane floating within each misty world.

Stellar Disks are large platters on which Josh expresses his ideas about the appearance of the night sky and the working of the universe. New Mexico disks resemble either starry night skies or peaceful or crashing seas. Corona disks are reminiscent of photos taken of deep space phenomena such as nebulae and the formation of stars. Hyperspace and Spacetime disks explore astrophysical concepts such as black holes, gravitational lensing, and the warping of the space-time continuum.

Inhabited Vases combine Planet techniques and ideas with the functionality of the vase form. Looking closely, you may see spaceships circling in the outer layers of the piece or you might notice other themes from Planets – including evoking an undersea world – as well as ideas from New Mexico Glass and Iridescent work. Many are made with a traditional vase shape but with a very thick layer of glass in the body (containing layers upon layers of scenery) combined with a delicate lip.

Iridescent Vases give Josh a way to play with pure form and color. The iridescence is created by exposing a vessel’s molten interior to a weak acid, which results in a rich and permanently etched surface that refracts and reflects the light surrounding it.

Saturns explore the idea of planets ringed by swirling matter or, most recently, black holes surrounded by swirling energy. Each one consists of a large thin disk of glass – consisting of either concentric rings or New Mexico or Corona glass – in “rotation” around a central planet or black hole. This continuation of the Planet theme involves a rigorous procedure that requires the help of the entire hotshop crew and hours of focused labor.

Tektites are sculptures made from lava-like glass that Josh originally created by replicating the chemical composition of actual glass meterorites. Within their rough, contorted exterior Josh had laid in lustrous layer of iridescent, New Mexico or Corona glass, creating the effect of a large meteorite having burst open, only to reveal a gleaming, secret, magnificent interior.

Tektite Portals have a rough, meteor-like exterior of Tektite glass, enclosing a spherical inner realm made visible through a perfectly smooth window cut to reveal the entire, complex universe within, almost like gazing through an aircraft port-hole at outer space or through a marine porthole at a marvelous undersea world.

Simpson Goblets

Josh first started creating his elegant thin-stemmed goblets to develop his skills, by making one of the most difficult objects for a glassblower to make by hand, without the aid of a mold or pre-shaped form. In 1977, twelve Cloud Goblets Tumblers were used at a Senate Wives Luncheon in the Carter White House, and in 1979 a set of six of his New Mexico Goblets were chosen by the Corning Museum of Glass for the “New Glass Review and Exhibition.” Josh stopped making goblets in 1987, and only revisited them briefly once or twice in the ensuing years. Now only singleton vintage goblets are available for sale in the online store.   

Copper Baskets

Sylva Petrova, Former Curator of Decorative Arts Museum in Prague, Czech Republic, wrote: “The Copper Basket Series, in which strands of copper wire “hold” clear, frosted glass blown into their forms, marks one of the high points in Simpson’s oeuvre. Not as conventionally beautiful as some of Simpson’s works, they are organic in appearance, suggesting ancient vessels whose original purpose can now scarcely be determined.”

In Josh’s mind, the glass in his Copper Baskets represent the expanding universe being held together by the inflexible constraints of the woven copper wire forms.

GLASS-MAKING TERMS

Furnaces are where raw glass mixtures are melted (or re-melted) and the glass is kept molten at about 2,000-2,300 degrees Fahrenheit in large ceramic “crucibles.” Josh operates as many as five furnaces full of different formulas and colors of glass. Each furnace was either built or designed by Josh himself.

Glory Holes are empty furnaces kept at extremely high heat and used to reheat glass as it is being formed on the blowpipe. Josh’s large glory holes allow him to create his very largest platters and sculptures, while small glory holes are where he makes spaceships from single rods of cane.

Blowpipes are hollow steel tubes used to pick up a “gather,” i.e. a glob of molten glass, from the glass in the furnace. They usually have a plastic mouthpiece at one end to prevent burning one’s lips and a slight flare at the other end to better hold the gather of molten glass.

Pontils are steel rods used to transfer a piece of glass off the blowpipe. When the pontil is attached to the outer end of the blown molten glass piece, this enables the glass to be “cracked off” the blowpipe so that the hollow end of the glass is open and available for further shaping and working. In this way, what started out as a closed bubble with a tiny opening at the end attached to the blowpipe can be taken off the pipe and shaped into an open bowl, vase, or platter.

Marvers are steel tables that are ground and polished perfectly flat. Molten glass (often on a blowpipe or pontil) is pressed or rolled against this surface to be shaped and sculpted. Josh uses a Marver when making cane from multiple layers of colored glass.

Optic Molds are hollow forms carved or cast in the shape of stars and other faceted shapes. When molten glass is pressed into this form, the resulting glass retains an exact impression of the mold’s ridges, curves, crevices, and valleys.

Forming Blocks are semi-circular molds carved out of dense-grained wood such as cherry or other fruit wood. After being soaked in water constantly for months, these are used to shape molten glass; water stored in the wood pores releases a layer steam upon contact with the molten glass, which helps keep the wood from catching fire.

Jacks are tools that looks like large tweezers, made of rigid metal, used to manipulate and shape molten glass. One of the main ways Josh uses jacks is to squeeze down the neck of a glass sphere where it is attached to a blowpipe, to shape a perfect orb.