BIO:
Cassandria Blackmore was born in California and spent part of her childhood in the
San Francisco Bay Area with her English father and her American mother. She grew up on a self sustaining farm in Oregon and learned at a very early age that everything had a process.
Creativity was integral to existing. She spent 20 years in Seattle being nurtured by the Studio Glass Movement.
Blackmore is acclaimed for her unconventional approach to reverse painting. She is widely recognized as a pioneering artist whose work goes beyond the traditional boundaries of glass and into the contemporary realm. She studied at Lewis & Clark College, completed independent studies in Yorkshire, England, and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Pacific Northwest College of Art where her thesis was on exploring Eastern and Western perspectives on art. Her work is collected internationally and exhibited in galleries and museums across the country. She is a recipient of the prestigious Hauberg Fellowship for painting on glass in 2002 and won a full ride scholorship to Pilchuck Glass School. She was honored as the Renwick Smithsonian artist of the month.
Blackmore's recent commissions include a large scale permanent installation for the lobby of the new Waldorf Astoria. Her work is in the public collections of Neiman Marcus, Lexus Corp., Andaz Maui, Four Seasons, University of Washington, MGM Center, Floyd and Delores Jones Playhouse, Pacific Central Bank, The Hilton, Opryland, The Peninsula Hotel, City of Seattle, Washington State Arts Commission, The Yellowstone Private Collection, Deloitte Consulting and more.
Cassandria currently divides her time between Seattle and Santa Barbara.
STATEMENT:
Glass is a smooth, seductive and mysterious substance yet at the same time, a very ordinary
substance. It can be as common as a wine glass or it can be a treasured work of art. It's part of our world culture. Glassmaking has been estimated to have been around for over 5,000 years. The same piece of glass can appear to be invisible at one moment and opaque another through its display of reflection. With my work you may, at times, see the painting through the transparent surface while later you might see the reflection of the environment around it thus obscuring the artist's physical mark. Glass is a chameleon of sorts, an illusionist.
There is a water-like quality to glass even though it is impervious to water. The way a brush glides across the smooth surface of the medium is appealing to me. I have always been attracted to the tactile qualities of mosaic, yet drawn to the fluidity of painting. I often wondered if I must choose between the two. I began painting on glass during a period in which I couldn't afford the
expensive Italian glass I had become accustomed to. I was going through a tough time. I had moved to Seattle in the middle of a dark, gloomy winter. I was dealing with personal heartache and to top it off, I had no money for art supplies. I recall listening to Etta James while drinking a glass of wine in my Seattle loft when a family photograph caught my eye. It was a portrait of me with my bohemian parents in Berkeley, CA in the late 60's. I really missed them. As I studied the photograph, I noticed the glass in the frame. That was a defining moment. The idea suddenly came to me. What if I remove the glass, paint a self portrait, shatter it and reassemble it like a puzzle? I was taking what shielded a physical memory from my past and turning it into my present. It was broken and put back together - an allegory for my life at the time. It was the perfect marriage of painting, image making, tactile qualities, reflection and resurrection. The fusion of painting and surface became my medium.
PROCESS:
“As I create an image, the viewer observes the most intimate of brush strokes. The true original intent of the artist is revealed and can not be covered by additional marks or revisions. Imagine a sheet of glass in between you and me. The first stroke of paint that I put down is the first stroke that you as the viewer sees. It is almost as if the viewer is on the inside of the painting. Whereas if I were painting on a canvas my very last stroke would be the first stroke the viewer would see.
My technique is a very permanent and literal way of working. I can't go back and place another stroke on top of the painting with the intention of changing it. Each stroke must be executed
methodically. Reverse painting on glass is like painting on the invisible. Its reverse nature can be complicated, but it's a perfect fit for a dyslexic artist such as myself.
I choose color through mood or sometimes visuals I have observed. It could be something as simple as a pair of hot pink shoes, or the color of a mushroom growing out of a moss covered nurse log in the forest. I find inspiration for color palettes all around me. I also find that color in itself can produce emotion. It's interesting to think about colors as emotions and what happens when you combine them within a painting. At times they are charged with tension, yet other times they seem to pacify each other.
It's the essence of breaking down an image and restoring it to another version of itself that
intrigues me. “
Resume | 2013
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2013 Blue Rain Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Habatat Galleries, Glass Invitational Solo, Royal Oak, MI
Glass Weekend, Duane Reed Galleries, Millville, NJ
Forre Fine Art, Aspen, CO
Heather Gaudio Fine Art. New Canaan, CT
SOFA Chicago, Duane Reed, Chicago, IL
Art Palm Beach, Palm Beach, FL
Red Dot, Miami, FL
2012 Hawk Galleries, Solo Show, Columbus, OH
SOFA Chicago, Hawk Galleries, Chicago, IL
Heather Gaudio Fine Art, New Canaan, CT
California Glass Conference, Oakland, CA
SOFA New York, Duane Reed Galleries, New York, NY
Art Palm Beach 3, Palm Beach FL
2011 SOFA New York, NY
Glass Weekend, Millville, NJ
G.A.S. Seattle, WA
Art Palm Beach, Palm Beach, FL
SOFA, Chicago, IL
2010 Hawk Galleries, Columbus, OH
SOFA New York, NY
Palm Beach 3, Palm Beach, FL
Duane Reed Gallery, St. Louis, MO
2009 SOFA New York, NY
Duane Reed, Solo Show, St. Louis, MO
Friesen Gallery, Solo Show, Sun Valley, ID
Palm Beach3, Palm Beach, FL
SOFA, Chicago, IL
Duane Reed Gallery, Solo Show, St. Louis, MO
2008 Friesen Gallery, Seeds of Compassion, Seattle, WA
Hawk Galleries, Les Dames du Verre, Columbus, OH
SOFA NewYork, NY
Palm Beach3, Palm Beach, FL
Lowe Gallery, Solo, Santa Monica, Los Angeles, CA
Cervini Haas Gallery, Solo, Scottsdale, AZ
Winston Wachter, New Visions in Glass. Seattle, WA
SOFA Chicago, IL
2007 Winston Wachter, Seattle, WA
Habatat Galleries,Tyson’s Corner, VA
SOFA New York, NY
Palm Beach3, Palm Beach, FL
Glass Weekend, Millville, NY
SOFA Chicago, IL
R. Duane Reed Gallery, St. Louis, MO
2006 Cervini Haas Gallery, Solo Show, Scottsdale, AZ
Habatat Galleries, Boca Raton, FL
R. Duane Reed Gallery, New York, NY
Edmonds Art Museum, Solo Show, Edmonds, WA
International Glass Conference, St. Louis, MO
Art Miami, Miami, FL
Stewart Gallery, Pilchuck 20, Boise ID
SOFA , New York, NY
SCOPE Art, The Hamptons, NY
R. Duane Reed Gallery, Solo Show, St. Louis, MO
SOFA Exhibition, Chicago IL
Palm Beach3, Palm Beach, FlL
2005 SOFA Exhibition, Chicago, IL
Wheaton Village, Glass Weekend, Millville, NJ
Art L.A., Los Angeles, CA
Art Palm Beach, Palm Beach, FL
Art Miami, Miami, FL
2004 Duane Reed Gallery, New York, NY
SOFA, Chicago, Chicago, IL
Duane Reed Gallery, Group Show, Miami, FL
2003 Friesen Gallery, Group Show, Sun Valley, ID
William Traver Gallery, Solo Exhibition, Seattle, WA
2002 International Glass Conference, Seattle, WA
2001 William Traver Gallery, Seattle, WA
2000 Vital 5, Seattle, WA
1998 Empire Arts Gallery, Seattle, WA
1995 Studio 68, Eugene, OR
1994 Osaka Terminal 17F, Osaka, JAPAN
1993 Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland, OR
Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR
1992 Second Floor Gallery, Portland, OR
1991 Wentz Gallery, Portland, OR
1990 Boyd Gallery, Portland, OR
PUBLICATIONS
2013 Carmel Magazine, 4 page Feature, May Issue
San Francisco Chronicle, Kelley Moore
Rue Magazine, San Francisco
2011 Top 10 Artists To Watch in California List
LUXE Design Dialogue, October
California Homes + Design, July/August
California Homes Magazine, July
San Jose Mercury News, June
2010 LUXE Magazine, Artist Profile, September, Northwest Edition
San Francisco Chronicle, Abstract Painter Who Shatters Her Images, June 13, San Francisco, CA
Seattle Homes, September
The New Fillmore, June, San Francisco, CA
San Francisco Magazine, Best of The Bay, July, San Francisco, CA
Haute Living SF, May 27th, San Francisco, CA
Reside, June 5, San Francisco, CA
San Francisco Modern Luxury, June, San Francisco, CA
2009 M Magazine, Hotel d’Art, December, Orlando, FL
Idaho Arts Quarterly, Interest and Impact”, Boise, ID
The Columbus, Show of The Year, Les Dames du Verre, Columbus, OH
Boise Weekly, Phoenix Rising, Boise, ID
Seattle Homes, September issue, Seattle, WA
2008 The Columbus Dispatch, March 30, Columbus, OH
2006 Florida Architecture, spring issue, FL
2005 Glass Magazine, spring issue
2003 Seattle Weekly, Seattle, WA
2002 Resonance Magazine
1998 Seattle Times Dec. 4th, Seattle , WA
1998 Seattle Times Nov. 5th, Seattle , WA
1995 Inkfish Magazine, OR
1994 The News Times, Newport, OR
1994 The News Guard, Lincoln City, OR
1993 Willamette Week, Portland, OR
1992 Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR
AWARDS
2013 Pilchuck Full Ride Scholorship, Session 1
2007 Renwick Smithsonian, featured Art of month, Washington D.C.
2002 John Hauberg Fellowship, Pilchuck, Stanwood, WA
1994 Award of Excellence in Art, The Fashion Group, Portland, OR
1993 Dean's List Award, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
2013 Andaz Maui
2011 Hilton, Washington, D.C.
Westin, Presidential Suite, Abu Dhabi
St Elizabeth Hospital
2010 Presidential Suite Ankara JW, Turkey
Cosmopolitan, Public Collection, Las Vegas, NV
Opryland, Nashville, TN
2009 Washington State Arts Commission
Waldorf Astoria
MGM Center, Aria, Las Vegas
Neiman Marcus
Four Seasons
2008 University of Washington
Ritz Carlton
Floyd and Delores Jones Playhouse
Carol Milgard Center
Seattle University
Washington Square Towers
Evergreen Hospital
2007 The Peninsula Hotel
Lexus Corp
Pacific Central Bank
Overlake Hospital
2004 Meridian Partners
2003 Deloitte Consulting
2002 The Bellevue Club
1999 City of Seattle
1994 Lincoln City Library
MEDIA
2005 UPN Station, Northwest Homes
2004 UPN Station, Pilchuck Glass Auction - interview
2002 Revolution, cable access show- interview
2002 Eye-V Arts, cable access show - interview
1994 The Morning Show
EDUCATION
1992 BFA Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR