LINDSY MARSHALL

Lindsy Marshall (SHE/HER) is a glass and mixed media artist whose work examines materiality, the duality of creation and deconstruction, and the processes of deterioration. She received her BFA with a concentration in glass from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2017. After graduating Lindsy spent two years as an Artist-in-Residence with the Worcester Center for Crafts, teaching and working out of their glass studio. Lindsy’s work was included in Bullseye Project’s Emerge exhibit in 2018 and has recently shown work with Cluster Crafts in the UK. Lindsy currently lives in the Greater Boston area with a studio in Ipswich and teaches regularly at craft schools around Massachusetts, including Snow Farm and WCC.

What kind of process went into organizing “DeGlassification”? What were some of your biggest considerations with this project?

I would say a lot of organizing went into Deglassification. Siena reached out to me around June of 2021 with their proposal of this showcase and about Brookline Arts Center. Having already a vision of what kind of glass show they were interested in, Siena invited me to join because of our history together. We both met while in the glass department at MassArt in Boston. During our formative years of creating we clicked; working together, bouncing ideas, and processes while later keeping tabs on each others new work. Both Siena and I use glass in a nontraditional way pushing the boundaries of what glass are is and how to create another conversation. While Siena is the main brains behind this project, together we have connected with both BAC and Sanctuary to create a couple different events during our showcase. It has been a lot of back and forth with emailing to create the space itself but also the best ways to engage the public. Hosting not only a show opening but we will be having artist talks open for anyone to come. Organizing both of these events posed some difficulty due to scheduling and getting people together

To engage the public with both spaces we will be having a local glass artist pop up and a glass workshop class.

How did your relationship with art and artistic expression begin?

My relationship with my art began when I was young, my dad was always painting and exploring new ideas within his medium. Through his artistic expression he influenced me to go outside, create, and most important play. After falling in love with nature and the “unwanted” parts of the natural world such as rust, my artistic drive began there. As a young adult in high school I quickly realized that I was a visual learner, gaining more knowledge and excitement within my art classes. Figuring out that the art world was something I felt connected to. Going to Mass Art for college was one of the best things I could have done for my career, it brought me to the community I now have and laid the ground work for my sculptures today.

As a glass artist, tell us about your favorite approach to your art and why it calls to you.

As a glass artist there are multiple different processes, I like to think of myself as a jack of all trades and having a bit of knowledge of all of them. My favorite approach to glass is kiln forming. It’s a process of using different glass techniques such as fusing and casting where we melt, stretch, slump, or flow into molds using a kiln which is basically a very hot oven. I love this process because with using the kilns there’s a sense of letting go, allowing the glass and the equipment to go through its process. Glass in certain aspect can be very controlled but usually glass has a mind of its own, creating this symbiotic relationship between material and maker. I think using kilns and the process of kiln forming you can highlight the unwanted or the unusual sides of glass making forcing everyone to confront the creating part not just the creation.

In your bio on your website, you wrote that your sculptures relate to your personal connection to nature. How has this connection evolved over time, and what parts of nature draw you in the most?

As time evolves so has my artwork, at the beginning a lot of my sculptures were interested in replicating what I found beautiful about nature. Now I am interested in the ephemeral side of nature, the unknown or unwanted parts. Finding the decay and rebirth parts of the natural world the most inspirational.

Where do you look for inspiration? How have your inspirations evolved over time?

Honestly, I look for inspiration everywhere I go, within the most mundane parts of our world. Realizing that what I found beautiful about nature and life was in most cases what humans glaze over. The rust that forms and changes the color on the walls and the mold that reshapes the original object through ordinary ugliness is elegance. Looking to highlight the abnormal as beautiful or bring the audience to a wider attention of detail within objects as especially glass because it’s this rich material with a lot of history.

What is “ART” to you?

Art is the freedom of expression, the comfortability of exploring the unknown and expanding the lines of comfortability within creating. I use my sculptures to push the boundaries of what is acceptable and what is considered “beautiful”

What has been the most challenging part of your journey as an artist? And what has been the most rewarding?

The most challenging part of my journey has been creating my artwork, as a glass artist you rely heavily on equipment. Leaving college and finding the time and the right equipment has been an obstacle course in itself, I think as any artist balancing working with creating is the hardest part. The most rewarding is the connection through opportunities, finding other creators that are in different stages of their lives to learn from and talk to. Deglassification wouldn’t have happened with Siena and I if it wasn’t for connections and community we have created with ourselves since college.

What is one piece of advice you would give to an aspiring artist?

One piece of advice I would give an a aspiring artist is keep going. The most important thing is to keep applying, keep putting your name out there in any way possible and don’t change your aesthetic unless you want to.

What’s next for you?

I’ll be teaching at Snow Farm in western Massachusetts this summer for the teens program where we will learn a range of fusing, slumping, and casting. It’s an amazing experience to nurture young artists and help them express themselves in more ways than you would think! Along with teaching, I have been offered a scholarship to attend a class at Pilchuck Glass School. I’m looking forward and excited to not only teach this summer but have the opportunity to learn while expanding on my sculptures. Thinking about a bit further into the future I am applying to more residencies national and internationally. Hoping to challenge myself to create in different aspects of multiple areas of landscapes.

Contact Lindsy at lemarshall@alumni.massart.edu