Maria Canale

The Voyager

After attending The School for American Craftsmen at RIT, majoring in metals, I have made my career as a Jewelry Designer. While at RIT I took an elective in glass, learning that unlike metal, Glass breaks, a term I now take to heart. Excited to return to RIT for the Vignelli workshop and spend several days at Corning with their master Gaffers to produce a Lamp inspired by the designs of Massimo and Lella Vignelli. We had the privilege to spend three days with the Vignelli Archives and Collection… which are truly Inspiring. I tend to prefer pure, clean designs so their aesthetic resonated with my own. I gravitated to their use of the simple geometric shapes of the ball and the pyramid, both forms which I have used throughout my career in my own jewelry collections. My initial designs were ones that covered the lamp base we were given but never seemed to satisfy what I felt was the true directive. I worked to find a way to incorporate the base into the design. Trying to simplify the design to its purest form, inspired by the Vignelli - Metaflora coffee table, I used the pyramid form and tied the base and shade together with a band of “Vignelli Red” The process of blowing the shade was done in 3 parts so that the bands of pure white and red were fused together. Watching this is happen is totally captivating, like watching Lionel Messi on the field as he depends on his teammates and is constantly dodging his opponents. Pure suspense and a team effort as each time a band was fused on we held our breath, because…. “Glass Breaks”. The process was thrilling and the end result a true team effort.