Though unquestionably a tour-de-force design in its own right, this is a vase that is best appreciated - or at least greatly enriched - by some basic historical background. John Nickerson was the first designer to come to Blenko with a pre-existing awareness of the Studio Glass movement's full scope and implications. Though the previous designer, Joel Myers, was an early and important figure in Studio Glass, he was also an explorer, as opposed to Nickerson who arrived fully initiated to this established cultural force.

Why does this matter? Briefly, it is a matter of maturity, sophistication and confidence. In 1970 when Nickerson began working for Blenko it would be impossible to not create designs that were informed by the recent history of Studio Glass, which as Assistant Professor of Ceramics and Design at Colorado State University is clearly a movement he would be amply informed of.

Accordingly, this vase, design #7220S, is a premier demonstration of the studio sensibility at play in a production glass environment. I will go as far as to say that not only is this Nickerson's best design for Blenko by far, but it is also deeply prescient of his future independent Studio Glass work for which he has since achieved much fame. Diagonal and irregular cut openings in contemporary shaped vessels are to this day an important feature in Nickerson's work.

This vase begins life as a bottle form (tooled while on the blowpipe rather than being transferred to a pontil rod, so no pontil mark is visible on the bottom) and then is simply cut on a bias from just below the neck on down to the lower body. Such cold work was very uncommon for Blenko products largely due to the significant added expense of production – accordingly this design was only produced for one year.

Beyond being a purely 70's sculptural form it is also a very sophisticated flower vase, cradling flowers as if they were still growing out of the plant. The vase is executed in a beautiful organic Olive Green. It measures 12.25 inches tall and 4 inches at it's widest and is in excellent condition.

For more images and information on John Nickerson's Studio Glass work I encourage you to visit his own website at http://www.nickersonglassworks.com