Mischka & Mariel Hunter

MISCHKA HUNTER

“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 theoptical 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.

Exhibitions & Awards

Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, Toronto, ON 2004/08/12/14

Craft Ontario, Toronto, ON, 2012-  Present

Modern Fuel Juried Salon, Kingston, ON, 2009

Festival International Montreal en Arts,  Montreal, QC, 2007

Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, Waterloo, ON 2004

Collections

Glass Now, National Museum, Philadelphia, PA, USA, 2013

Installation with Ken Gangbar Studios, Queue Bar Cosmopolitan Hotel, Las Vegas, 2010

Installation with Ken Gangbar studios, Lobby installation Radisson Paris, France, 2009

Glass Art Society Conference Student Exhibition, Seattle, Washington, 2003

MARIEL HUNTER

The Trinidad and Toboggan Islands where Mariel Waddell Hunter was raised have inspired and influenced many of her glass series. The experience of living in those centers of natural beauty has been the main foundation for her artistic vision.

Mariel begins in the hot shop blowing out her form, than she has two assistants bring hot glass bits that she adds to her form and sculpts. By trailing and sculpting molten bits of glass, she attempts to capture the beauty of water.

Hunter is a graduate of the Crafts and Design Program at Sheridan College in Oakville. Following her educational training, Mariel was offered a partnership at the Kingston Glass Studio & Gallery.  She works with her husband, Mischka Alexi Hunter, on both individual works and collaborative pieces. Glass provides the ideal medium for sculptural representations of liquid movement and ocean currents, which remains at the root of her artistic expression.

Exhibitions

Glass Now, National Museum, Philadelphia, PA, 2013

Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, Toronto, ON 2004/08/12/13

Craft Ontario, Toronto, ON, 2012-  Present

OKWA Annual Member’s Show, Kingston Frontenac Public Library, ON, 2013

Ontario Craft Council “20 Under 30” Juried Exhibition, Toronto, ON, 2012

Canadian Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago- Port of Spain, Trinidad, 2012-Present

Musée Des Beaux – Arts de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, 2010-Present   

Installation with Ken Gangbar Studios, Queue Bar Cosmopolitan Hotel, Las Vegas, 2010

Installation with Ken Gangbar studios, Lobby installation Radisson Paris, France, 2009

Festival International Montreal en Arts, Montreal, QC, 2007

Awards

Nan Yeoman Award, Kingston Arts Council, Kingston, ON 2014

Ontario Craft Council Award Recipient, Toronto, ON, 2012

Glass Art Society Conference Student Exhibition, Seattle, Washington, 2003

Full Scholarship for a William Gudenrath Workshop, Corning Glass Museum, NY, 2006            

Don Lee-Trend Custom Award, Sheridan College Institute, Oakville, ON, 2006

Betty Kantor Award, Sheridan College Institute, Oakville, ON, 2005

Summer Residency Scholarship, Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, ON, 2005