RobinMixGlass

Robin Mix was first introduced to glassblowing at the University of Massachusetts in the early ‘70s. The challenges of the medium, the visually engaging, colorful and quick environment around the furnace intrigued him, sparking a 35-year career that took him through the glass factories of Northern Europe to some of America’s finest galleries and exhibitions. Artist and craftsman, Robin conceives his functional works and carries them, by his own hands, to completion.

Robin was one of the first American glassblowers to make and use murrini. Robin’s murrini glass is characterized by bold concentric squares and ribbons of vivid color, fused and drawn into fluid and functional vessels.

Unlike clay or paint, murrini glass is a temperamental medium that forces the artist to work within its inherent boundaries. The glass dictates color pairings, size, and shape. However, if an artist simply lets the glass take over, the work begins to look the same. Murrini’s thousand-year history inspires Robin’s to break this conformity.

Murrini principles are ancient; these mosaic glass techniques were practiced in Pompeii. Visit the Glossary to learn more about murrini. Robin recently extended his innovative vision into pixelato, another mosaic technique, invented by Robin, that effervesces tiny points of color throughout the glass.

Color in glass is created by combining chemicals and mineral oxides at very high temperatures. Most glassblowers use commercially produced color, but Robin finds mass-produced color limiting. Though he has no formal engineering or chemical training, he painstakingly custom mixes all of the jewel tones in his work. The result is a brilliant spectrum of hues not commonly found in American glass.