AWARD: Percy Echols II wins the first Ron Desmett Memorial Award for Imagination in Glass
Percy Echols II is the first recipient of the Ron Desmett Memorial Award for Imagination in Glass established by the Pittsburgh Glass Center (PGC). Founded in memory of artist Ron Desmett, this award is given to an emerging glass artist that challenges conventional understanding of the medium and shows great potential in the same vein as the late co-founder of the center. Then a painter and ceramist, Desmett didn’t start his glass work until a year after opening the PGC with his wife Kathleen Mulcahy, a glass artist herself, who in 2002 asked artists from other materials to “think in glass.” Thus tasked, he began blowing opaque black glass vessels shaped inside hollowed out tree trunks which pushed the envelope of the previously polished and pristine glass vessels, embracing the notion that nothing is impossible and that glass doesn’t have to be beautiful to make a powerful statement.
The award celebrates Desmett’s legacy and hopes to inspire others to reach new heights in their own practice, encouraging exploration and risk-taking to create something unique with the support of the Ron Desmett Artist Fund established by Mulcahy. After receiving 51 applications from around the world, Echols was selected for his work in plasma and plasma neon. He is passionate about the alchemical and scientific application of excited gases and the use of specialized equipment used in neon. He sees plasma and neon as a new venue through which to engage the viewer’s sense of touch through glass, since the soft glow of the plasma responds to the viewer’s proximity and touch…