Josh Simpson Contemporary Glass | 413.625.6145 | joshsimpsonglass.com | August 29, 2023

The only Blue Moon of 2023 rises this week!

The coming biggest and brightest moon of this year has inspired us to showcase an unusual series of work that Josh created in May of 2020. Back then, when Covid precautions left him shaggy-haired and working alone in the hotshop, Josh was inspired to make a new series of "Klingon Toasting Goblets" that he had first created in the early 1990s as a commission for "Star Trek." These quirky vessels contained a classically elegant Simpson goblet cup encased in and held aloft by a gnarly Tektite pedestal. (You can read more about Tektite Glass here).

In 1993, the Corning Museum of Glass selected one of Josh's Tektite Goblets for inclusion in "New Glass Review;" this piece now resides in the museum's permanent collection. (Photo credit: Corning Museum of Glass.)

The goblets in Josh's new 2020 series feature the same coarse and twisted stems as the original version, but now the cups have shiny black exteriors and gleaming iridescent interiors. A few earlier New Mexico Tektite Goblets may also be found on our website.

Tektite Goblets

Hampshire Gazette Staff Photos/Carol Lollis

Glassblowing returns to Snow Farm!

Since shutting down during Covid, the Snow Farm glassblowing program has been reinvigorated by Williamsburg, MA resident Jay Brown (yes, that Jay Brown, who worked with Josh 2014-2019)! Jay built a furnace more suited to the needs of the program than the one they used previously. Now, Snow Farm has planned six glassblowing classes, some open to teens as well as adults. Jay Brown himself will teach the first class with the new furnace, a two-day workshop beginning Sept. 22, 2023. Visit Snow Farm's class registration page here.

The yurt where Josh lived through winter 1972-73... brrrrr. No wonder he spent 18 hours a day in the hotshop teacing himself to make goblets!

This month's Infinity Project participant is Brendan C. of Bethel, Maine. In a nod to Josh's own experience living in a yurt in northern Vermont during the winter of 1972-73, Brendan's proposal was selected because he plans to hide his Infinity Planet in a yurt campground near his home. He hopes someone will find the little sphere someday and think it was left there by aliens. Good plan!

You can learn more about the Infinity Project in this video. And you can participate yourself by signing up on this page. If your proposal is selected, we will send you one Planet to hide and one to keep.

Smithsonian Museum Calendar and Exhibition

A surprise to us until a few days ago, the Smithsonian Institution's 2023 Engagement Calendar features one of Josh's favorite Megaplanets! This 12.5" diameter sphere now resides - thanks to a generous donor - in the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian's American Art Museum. Also unbeknownst to us, the Megaplanet is featured in a 2023 exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Renwick Gallery! Wait... did we miss it? Is it happening now? Is it coming soon? We can't find out the answer because apparently the entire Smithsonian staff is away on (well-deserved) vacation. Sigh. When we do know more, we'll let you know!

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Salmon Falls Gallery 1 Ashfield Street
Shelburne Falls, MA | 01370 US

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