Glass Eyes come in Hazel or Blue and are about 4" in diameter for $560 each.

The craft of glass blowing has been around for more than two thousand years.  But the inventive duo behind Esque Studios strives to mold new forms with their conceptual glass sculptures.  Portland glass blowers Andi Kovel and Justin Parker formed Esque Design in 1999. They blow and hand finish every design to order. Working with 2,000 degree temperatures, the artists take turns holding the steel rod, their magic wand, while molten glass at the end is being shaped or blown by their partner.

Esque designs are internationally renowned. Kovel and Parker were included in Time Magazine’s “Design 100″ of the most influential contemporary designers around the world. They’ve been sought out by high profile brands including Anthropologie, Sephora, and Ralph Lauren, yet retain their quirky and punk aesthetic and techniques.

No surprise, but I’m attracted to their weirder, darker, anatomy inspired pieces like the Anatomical Heart Vase and the Sleeping (dead, pushing up the daisies) Bird Lamp.

The two are also conscientious about green initiatives. Their warehouse uses wind-powered energy and two electric furnaces that run up to ten times more efficiently than a traditional gas furnace. They use recycled material including excess glass, rainwater, and cornstarch packing peanuts.

The Sleeping Bird Lamp comes in opal, beige, amber or black in a small 11" and large 15" size. It starts at $504.

Guilded Skull is glass and gold leaf. It's around 5" around and available for $784

Anatomical Heart Vase is 5" tall. You can almost see it pulsing. It's available for $504.

The Blasfemur (lol) Desk Light is 26" long and comes in smoke or opal for $1792.

Silver Lined Mirrored Skull is about 8" around for $3136

I've featured this Skull Decanter before and it's still my favorite piece in the Esque collection. It can be made with a black skull or a clear skull for $1075,

Kovel and Parker are amazing artisans.  I would love to see their work in person.  See all of Esque’s designs or order on their website.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 5th, 2012 at 12:17 pm and is filed under Art. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.