Trailblazers: Exposing the Rise of Functional Glass Sculpture
Where: Black Book Gallery
When: April 19-May 2
Cost: Free

Trailblazers features the artwork of 5 glassblowers and one artist, all of whom have been prolific contributors to the history and development of the pipe-making community.

“I never thought I’d see the day where my glass sculptures would be in a gallery,” said glassblower Eusheen (Goines).

Originally from Oregon, Eusheen spent a summer in high school traveling across America with his mother.
“I learned a lot from that trip,” said Eusheen at the VIP gallery on April 18. Knowing he wanted to do something in the arts, Eusheen dropped out of high school in tenth grade and found himself immersed in what used to be an underground culture of glassblowing—a culture that is just starting to break through to a larger audience now that marijuana is also becoming more widely accepted.

“I would say I learned from a lot of people,” said Eusheen. “It’s because of glassblowers’ openness and willingness to help. That’s what I do when I teach. I don’t keep secrets from people or hide tricks.”
Because selling pipes was illegal up until recently, glassblowing and its followers banded together. As a result, a tight knit and collective community was created.

“Glassblowing culture was built on giving back,” said Eusheen. “We pass and share with others.”

Black Book Gallery, a local gallery that just recently moved to the Baker Neighborhood, recognized early on the craftsmanship, functionality and stylistic beauty that is pipe-making and is helping change the rhetoric around it. As the gallery’s website explains, “By emerging in the fine art world as intricate, delicate sculptures, the stigma of ‘drug paraphernalia’ is quickly fading.”

One of Eusheen’s pieces, titled “Two Purps,” is a recycler with intricate detail —a style of water pipe that “recycles” the water throughout pieces, or, in other words, pulls water through the chambers in a way that makes the hit smoother and easier to take. In “Two Purps,” the water would flow in fluid circles throughout the piece’s circular chambers. Beyond just the functionality of the piece, “Two Purps” is asymmetric and has fluid, smooth curves that resemble, to me, the flow of the water.

Four other artists: JAG, Micah Evans, SLOP and Zach Puchowitz, were also featured in the show, each offering a unique perspective to glassblowing. Prints by Mike Giant were a unique bonus to the exhibit, showcasing a selection of originals.