Jack Storms is an American light artist based in California who specializes in cold-worked dichroic glass sculptures. While most glass artists work with the material in a molten state, Jack is unique in that he completes his work entirely in a cold-worked process. While Jack never really could describe what he wanted to do at an early age, art has always been his passion, which is something you can definitely see in his works.

Jack’s process involves three main materials: led crystal, dichroic glass and a special epoxy with the same refractive index as the led crystal. Dichroic glass is unique in that it contains a specialized coating which reflects one color of light but transmits another. This duality offers a multitude of visual effects: each piece of dichroic reflects and trasmits varying colors and even casts colored shadows. This interplay between all of the pieces results in very kinetic-based sculptures in which light bounces around and changes with the viewer’s position.

To combine these materials into a sculpture, the led crystal is first cut to size and split in half. The two interior faces created by splitting the block are then polished with a great attention to detail and the epoxy is used to glue a piece of dichroic glass in the middle. The block is sealed back together and this process is completed 100s-1000s of times. While this base process might seem easy, each of Jack’s sculptures are completely by Jack alone and take him roughly 7-15 weeks to finish. Each step is  a “pursuit of perfection”, in his own words. Any imperfection would easily catch the attention of the viewer, as the artworks are based on the refraction and reflection of light.

Jack has had considerable success and really developed a niche for his artwork in society. In fact, he has been commissioned to complete several artworks for high-profile clients, such as Marvel, Derek Jeter and a Firehouse Association.

 

Both the baseball bat and bell were created as a result of Jack’s invention of a glass lathe. This instrument allows him to create smooth and rounded organic forms much more precisely and evenly than would be possible with normal glass grinding equipment.

 

In addition to his commissioned pieces, Jack recently opened up a jewelry business with his ex-wife, Vivian Storms. Their aim is to create Jack’s artworks in a miniaturized form which is affordable, but still beautiful, which “outshines diamonds”.

 

 

Finally, below are three of Jack’s works displayed, showing how he uses the material in different ways to achieve different effects; sharp edges often are used to catch light, while smooth faces often create the illusion of “dancing” light as the viewer’s perspective changes around the piece spatially.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Qb-c8fA2D8k

Here is a link to a 360 rotating view of one of his pieces. It is in this view that it is easiest to see the interplay with light and his art.