THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, December 16, 1994 â€" 10 en ez > ,ee0e000000 By DIANE HART Special to the Beaver The one word that comes to mind after gazing at the fragile beauty that is artist Daniel Crichton‘s work is...energy. Not only has it been his own tireless energies that altered the hot glassâ€"blowing studio, from a tiny hut in the back of Sheridan College to a worldâ€"class facility housed in its main campus, but it is also the simple, but profound energy, that propels the making of his own art. "Sometimes, I feel as though I am at the apex of an energy chain," said Crichton, speaking of the fascinating process involved in the making of a glass piece from its initial liquid state to a more viscous one. For the talented artist â€" recent recipient of the prestigious Prix Saidye Bronfman Award â€" workâ€" ing in the complex, yet stimulatâ€" ing, world of hot glass blowing is a tireless fascination. In fact, he considers it an honor to be able to k eogsevey ........ work within an artform that dates back more than 4,000 years. "To my mind, it‘s a privilege," he says. The $20,000 Prix Saidye Bronfman Award is Canada‘s foremost distinction for craftmanâ€" ship and one of the largest indiâ€" vidual arts awards in the country. Crichton, the head of the glass program at Sheridan College since 1979, is the first hot glass artist to be honored with the award. Chosen from 18 artists in all major crafts, Crichton says he was thrilled to be nominated, much less selected, from all the other talented artists across the country. "It‘s wonderful; it‘s a great honor," he comments, from the studio at Sheridan College â€" a world class facility where more than 20 courses are taught ranging from engraving to architectural casting. It is the very complexity of the art that initially attracted Crichton from the twoâ€"dimensional, less complicated form of stained glass. 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THE SWAN PRIN F T . 1:45. INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE (R) Violence. Evgs. 7:00 9:30. Opening Wed., Dec. 21st RICHIE RICH (PG) Wed. Ttlurs. 71 ‘5' 9:25. V{qd. Thurs. Mati 1;3(»).__7 JIM CARREY _ JEFF DANIELS YOU WON‘T KNOW THE FACTS UNTIL YOU SEE THE FICTION. «THE MOST ENTeRTANING uM or ThE * es an ht > paRiic Ano rowny® tm teve AMd Nt the WA 4 | CHRISTOPHER LLOYD ho. EC005 | mm onmtimian‘nienx [BceAl e C eat mn‘s i "THE FUNNIEST FILM OF THE YEAR!" â€"Patrick Stoner, FLICKS/PBS | m h m\u | + SCHMARZENEGCGER DEVITO THOMPSO! AX IVAN RETMAN m wollies 7 ORCHESTRA OSO Concert Tickets make Merry Musical Christmas Gifts! Call 844â€"7984 Master glass blower, Daniel Crichton in his world class facility within Sheridan College. And it is that same complexity that continually pushes him to make better and better art. Crichton compares its athletic requirements to dance. Like dance, there is a rhythm, a disciâ€" pline, a fluidity of movement. "You really have to focus like dance, to deal with the greater and greater complexity. It‘s a perforâ€" mance thing, really; it either works out or it doesn‘t and, like dance or music, it has a short duration," he says. The gifted glass artist clearly looks upon this most demanding work as a separate artform with clearly defined parameters he is Handels "Messiah" CHRISTMA December 16 presented by W HIM HOME Give 'RI\SOakville Centre G and save up to 20% b FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS 130 Navy Street, Oakville, Ontario s wiTH WHITEOAKS 17, 8:00 p.m. _ hitecaks Choral S PU’r MICHAEL BURG@SFOI’ Chris[mas ift Certificate on your list. erfect gift for everyoneom $1 to $50 Available in denominat10ns fr The Oakville Centre Box Office will be closed for the holidays fromWednesday, Dec. 21 through Monday, Jan. 2. The Box Office will reopen at Noon on January 3. Oakville Centre‘s complete menu of great entertainment buying an A La Carte Card. For complete details, call the Ticket Office at (905) 815â€"2021. Open Monday to Friday, 12 Noon to 5 p.m. Events Line 3384200 Smss« Swift Sure constantly challenging. In a personal artist‘s statement, Crichton says, the most influential historical period of the artform is ancient Egypt, prior to the invenâ€" tion of glassblowing, during which vessels resembling semiâ€" precious stone were formed by means of the "sandcore process." He continues, "... Layered within the folds of these colored and opaque glasses, I discovered my inclination for the volcanic spirit of a fluid, and yet tactile glass which, like the earth itself, is embodied within the thin fragile shell of the vessel..." And he tries to convey his own sense of exciteâ€" njoy the *GIFT CERTIFICATES NOW ON SALE :: (Photo by Riziero Vertolli) ment and enthusiasm with this artform to his students. "To try to push the limits of their own work," he explains. "For myself, I find it almost therâ€" apeutic." As well, the fascinating, longâ€" standing history of the artform adds its own texture and beauty, he says. He points out that vesselâ€" making has a long history that dates back more than 4,000 years. "There are rich, diverse, ethnic roots from Egypt, Greek, Roman â€" to German, Czechoslovakian," he says. And he likes his students to recognize that they are part of a much larger framework when they enter the glass studio to begin working on a piece. "I like them to know, or realâ€" ize, that they are part of a larger thing that‘s been going on for a long, long time," he says. He acknowledges the "sheer frustration" of the art and likened his work to using a honey dipper â€" the same need for quick response to rapidly hardening material that just doesn‘t want to © See ‘Crichton‘ page 15) ofM W‘\ THE OTHER KIND OF POOL! 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