B100 (CREAMY RED/CLEAR/TEAL) (2000), BY SONJA BLOMDAHL
ACQUIRED FROM WILLIAM TRAVER GALLERY, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, JULY 2000
HAND-BLOWN GLASS, 14" HIGH BY 11" IN DIAMETER, SIGNATURE ENGRAVED ON THE BASE BY THE ARTIST


The story of how I acquired this work starts with a fortunate coincidence. The first Blomdahl that I acquired, B199, was the first work that Sonja created in 1999... "99" for the year 1999 and "1" for the first work created that year. I acquired B199 because I really liked its simple yet elegant combination of blue, green, and clear glass, but when I learned that it was the first work she created in 1999, I thought that gave the work a special significance.

So, when Dan Kany at William Traver Gallery happened to mention to me that this work, B100, Sonja's first work of 2000, was still available, I had a flash of inspiration: Why not create a collection of Blomdahls that are all the "Firsts" of their years? I asked Dan if he would send me some pictures of this work... so he sent me three, taken in different types of light. What he sent was enough to convince me to go ahead and acquire this work. (The pictures you see here do not do justice to these works.)

This work is very similar to B199 in form and size (in fact, they are almost identical in this respect), but almost completely different in color. While B199 uses a combination of opaque lapis and turquoise, B100 uses translucent color to superb effect. The lower part of the work is colored red and white, with an extremely smooth transition between the two colors. (Hence the color name "creamy red".) The neck of the work is clear glass, which helps to channel and amplify light from above into the body of the work, and the top of the work is colored in teal. If this work is lit from behind, it can sometimes appear to contain only a hint of red, even in the neck and top of the work... this effect is shown in the second picture.

I am a big admirer of Sonja's work... she has definitely mastered the skill of coloring glass beautifully, and the forms of her works are very elegant. Along with B199 and B100, I have also added B101 and B102 to my "Collection of Firsts". I hope to continue this tradition in the coming years.

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