Clearly Unique: Blown Glass by local artist, Bill Van Tassell

Mon, 08/13/2012 - 11:56am — Diane Dyer

On Highway 79, in the north of Butler County, there is a small wooded haven. In that haven is a glass blower’s shop called Evolution Glass Works. It is an unlikely location for an impressive artist, but there is where you will find him. Bill Van Tassell turns out unique glass pieces in this out-of-the-way place. The shop is fitted with equipment used in the craft, much of it built by Van Tassell himself, a maintenance technician by trade.

Bill Van Tassell received his training at the Indianapolis Art Center. His wife, Barbara, who currently helps as an assistant in their shop, was taking a stone carving class at the center in 2000 when Bill mentioned that he had always been interested in glass blowing. Barbara paid for a paper weight workshop for Bill for Christmas of that year, and Bill quickly moved on from that workshop to classes at the center.

Shortly after completing the classes, the couple moved to Kent, Ohio, where John Steinart was operating a glass-blowing school. When Steinart closed his school, Van Tassell decided to build his own shop at the Peninsula Art Academy in Peninsula, Ohio. He was the only glass blower at the academy.

Throughout their years together, the couple visited Butler County many times while vacationing in the Mammoth Cave region. Barbara was born in Butler County, and when a parcel of land that had been owned by her uncle became available, the couple moved to the area in 2007, and built the shop they work from today.

On this particular day, Bill is creating small glass pumpkins for an upcoming show. (The couple participates in many shows and festivals, as well as fund-raising events.) The glass starts out in the raw form as glass nuggets which are placed into a ceramic crucible inside a kiln to heat. The liquid glass is transferred from the kiln on a blowpipe called a punty. The piece is shaped on a marvering table, where colors of crushed glass are added. It is then placed into a furnace where the pipe is continuously turned in order to heat the glass and keep the piece malleable so that the artist can continue to shape and mold it. The shaping and molding process for the pumpkins includes a tool called a block. The block is usually made of cherry wood and must be kept wet during the process. A cutting tool, called a jack, separates the glasswork from the pipe. The finished piece is then placed into the annealing oven, which cools the piece gradually in order to assure that the glass doesn’t crack or break.

Bill moves on to his next project, a swan vase, which adds another technique to the process. Along with the heating and shaping, Bill swings the vase back and forth like a pendulum which creates the fluted edges of the vase. His last project for the day is a paperweight, and not just any paperweight. This one will contain the ashes of his deceased cat, Robin. Bill chooses black and white crushed glass for the project (Robin’s markings). The finished piece is ethereal, a fitting memorial for a beloved pet.

The Van Tassells are very much involved in promoting their craft. Bill’s work these days includes designing and building home studios for other glass blowers. Each fall, the couple offers paperweight classes for those interested in learning the basics of glass blowing. The four-hour class includes creating three paperweights, which the student keeps. (For those who are interested, you may contact the Van Tassells at [email protected]. 0r phone 270-999-5318)

If you would like to view Bill Van Tassell’s work, the website address is www.evolutionglassworks.com. His pieces are also featured at Gallery on the Square in Franklin, Kentucky, and at Lost River Cave gift shop and the Hobson House in Bowling Green.