I thoroughly enjoy the glass blowing process because it combines mental creativity with the physical nature of working hot glass into simple forms, and then altering them with a variety of detail.
Glass artist Mischka Alexi Hunter has been blowing glass at his Kingston Glass Studio and Gallery since 2006. Much of his work is inspired by childhood memories from his family’s Ontario farm. Mischka is very interested in the technical aspects of blowing large glass vessels and balancing these shapes by sculpting and creating various surface affects. Hunter creates functional artwork as well as sculptural vessels.
He is continually drawn to the optical qualities of the glass when engraving, and at the same time obscuring parts of the surface. Mischka begins by blowing out large vessels in the hot shop, after the piece is shaped he re-heats the form and stretches out the shape so each vase is one-of-a-kind. He enjoys how each end result is different.
Hunter is a graduate of the Crafts and Design Program at Sheridan College in Oakville. Following his educational training, Mischka was offered a partnership at the Kingston Glass Studio & Gallery. He works with his wife, Mariel Waddell Hunter, on both individual works and collaborative pieces. His artistic drive is fierce and his goal is to create provocative works of art that will continue to hold meaning far into the future. In 2014 he won "Best in Glass" at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition.