在西方传统我们所珍视的理想的艺术家是孤独天才——只有他或她在自己的工作室，英勇的创造着我们从未想过的方式。但是，很少有绝对的艺术认同。正如俗话所说，他们站在巨人的肩膀上 。

　　艺术家有其缪斯和导师-那些同行和前辈，老师和朋友们，都在支持和培育他们正在进行的创造性表达。

　　目前出现在塔科马的威廉Traver画廊，就是一个很好的例子。在这里， 16个新兴玻璃艺术家被要求选择出一个或两个艺术家，看谁更能激发创造力。

　　16位艺术家一起展出，由导师、教师和朋友选定作品。

　　例如说，里克阿伦选择了乔恩Ormbrek因为“他的自然，敏感和本能的好奇心”，促使探讨他的本性。画廊老板威廉Traver说，Ormbrek是众所周知的工作室玻璃艺术中的艺术家。

　　阿伦的两个多媒体作品两个完全不同， “领航员神经”和“ X - 12 Teslascopic探索 ”类似复古科幻飞船。艾伦因此启发Ormbrek的处理方式，致力于工艺的自由化。

　　在其他团体，奇思妙想更显而易见。Alex Stisser对吹制玻璃的技巧是一个伟大的灵感。因此在处理材料的制作上，达到似乎是不可能的形式。

　　在这里，共有几十家的作品，约37个不同的艺术家的展览。其中大部分是玻璃，但也有其他媒体，包括陶瓷等。除了作为一个有启发性的灵感源泉，这也是一个辉煌的盛会。艺术家都在利用自己的玻璃媒体显示艺术的活力，绝对是不容错过的。

　“领航员北京时间”的里克艾伦是一个老艺术家。在多媒体雕塑的基础上，变成一个异想天开的航天器。其中的一把小红椅子置于玻璃船舶的鼻心处。极具幽默和创新的天才艺术家，乔恩Ormbrek的作品一直会激动人心。

　SET THE CONTROLS. “Navigator NEU” by Rik Allen is a multimedia sculpture based on an old bouy that the artist transformed into a whimsical spacecraft in which a tiny, red chair is placed inside the bubble-glass in the nose of the ship. The humor and innovative genius of fellow artist Jon Ormbrek has been inspirational to Allen.

　In the Western tradition we cherish the ideal of the artist as the solitary genius – alone in his or her own studio, heroically conjuring the creative energies to take us to places never seen before. There are few, however, who have actually generated their artistic vision from within an absolute vacuum. Most who see far do so because, as the saying goes, they stand on the shoulders of giants (who in turn stood on the shoulders of giants and so on back to the time of the first cave paintings).

　Artists (and they are not by any means unique in this respect) have their muses and mentors – those peers and forebears, teachers and friends who have inspired, supported and nurtured them in their on-going journey into creative expression.

　“Inspired By,” the current show at Tacoma’s William Traver Gallery, is a case in point. Here, 16 emerging glass artists were asked to choose one or two of the artists who in some way inspired their own work.

　Works of art by the 16 artists are exhibited alongside those of the mentors, teachers and friends that were selected. On wall-mounted statements near each grouping, the 16 selectors discuss the ways in which they were nurtured and inspired.

　Rik Allen, for example, states that he chose Jon Ormbrek because “his natural tenaciousness, intelligence and instinctive curiosity” inspired him to explore his nature. Gallery owner William Traver further explained that Ormbrek is known in the studio glass world as much for his technical innovations in working with the medium as for his actual artistic creations.

　The artwork presented by the two are quite different from each other. Allen’s two multi-media pieces, “Navigator NEU” and “X-12 Teslascopic Probe,” resemble retro science fiction spaceships, whereas Ormbrek’s work is represented by an inventive chair made of branches from which the bark has been carefully removed. There is also a pair of Ormbrek’s primitive deer vessels made of stoneware.

　Allen is thus inspired by Ormbrek’s manner of approaching problems, dedication to craftsmanship and a freedom to be whimsical.

　In other groupings, a more formal inspiration is evident. A tall, elegant and delicate blown glass vessel by Alex Stisser resides alongside a towering and classical form by Dante Marioni. Stisser states that Marioni’s “controlled finesse” with blown glass was a great source of his own inspiration. The inspiration here is thus in the handling of the material in the making of seemingly impossible forms.

　All together there are dozens of works by some 37 different artists in the exhibit. Most are glass, but there are other media, including ceramics, present. In addition to being an instructive exploration of the wellsprings of inspiration, the show is a brilliant extravaganza – a display of the vitality with which artists of glass are utilizing their medium. This show is not to be missed.

“Inspired By” runs through May 10 at Traver Gallery