Milton Tomlinson

PORTALS LTD

CHICAGO

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MILTON TOMLINSON

"I am committed to creating successful sculptural compositions through the union of blown and cast glass with reclaimed and forged metals. I find the balance of mental and physical challenges inherent to problem solving aesthetic concepts along with the marriage of two similar and yet at the same time seemingly incompatible materials very intriguing.

Since concentrating my efforts beginning in September 2006, I have developed a deep satisfaction in the making of my work. This affords me the option to broaden and deepen my understanding of the material each time I complete a piece of sculpture. I am working within a formal framework where light, shadow, reflection, contrast, repetition, and texture as well as positive and negative space converge with variety of line and form. Hot worked glass, whether blown or cast, hand forged organic steel forms, and cast iron gas fittings reclaimed from our decayed industrial and agrarian society are integrated into unified, contemporary sculptural objects. These objects rely heavily upon metaphor which is illustrated through the use of rich craft traditions nurtured throughout the vast history of mans interaction with hot glass and iron. I celebrate the freedom to go with the flow, to experiment, and think on my feet. I balance my limitations and potentials. Unknown rules become irrelevant and the science of creation is tantamount. All elements are used to push and pull, expand and shrink, in order to shape hot steel and hot glass into anticipated forms. Hot glass and hot steel are as similar as they are different, as heat becomes the key ingredient in my successes and ventures."

Milton Tomlinson

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