John Krizan

Available at the Alberta Craft Gallery - Edmonton & Calgary

For most of my life I was a professional automotive technician where I enjoyed the challenge of diagnosing and repairing different makes and models of the automobile. I decided I wanted a change and to be closer to nature, so I enrolled in the Parks and Natural Resources program at Kirkwood Community College and earned an Associate of Applied Science Degree. Along the way I enrolled in a glassblowing class as one of my electives and was immediately seduced by the hot molten glass on the end of my blow pipe. While observing and coaxing this molten material with my hands, constantly fixing and creating something of my own, a great passion sparked within my soul. I feel this molten medium connects me to nature and science in a way I could not have imagined before. There is a long history of scientific research that goes into the creation of glass and glass colour. I have fun experimenting with many different elements like gold, silver or copper to create unique colour effects in glass. Forces we find in nature such as gravity and centrifugal force can be used to manipulate the glass in different ways to create beautiful forms like you see in nature. I feel that my work reflects my love for experimentation with form and colour and my love for nature. To me the creative process of working with glass relates to the way I used my imagination as a mechanic; problem solving and predicting possible solutions. In both of these processes I use my mind and my hands together to make something happen.