edsgallery

Ed and Martha Biggar

Ed's Gallery

Ed Biggar has been interested in glass and light since he majored
in mixed-media sculpture in the early 1970’s at Oregon State
University. During that period he took a scientific glassblowing
class and became aware of the possibilities of illumination while
studying glass technique, and was inspired by his ceramics
professor who made a slab piece which included the famous
banana slugs of the Northwest which lit up. With visions of the
artistic possibilities and banana slugs in his head Ed started
working with commercial neon in the mid-80’s and began teaching
himself the process of lighting glass objects soon after. While
attending a 4 year hot glass program at California State University
at San Bernadino, he met and worked with David Svenson and Kim
Koga and started making serious sculptural work using illuminated
glass as an element. David and Kim helped him greatly in his quest
to utilize light and glass. Since that time he has never stopped
exploring the medium. His work has been shown throughout the
world. He is known for his whimsical found object sculptures and
once was quoted as saying: ”My medium is everything.”

Ed with On the Road Again (l) and
The Arc of the Convent (r), both
mixed media illuminated pieces.

Rough on Rats, one of Ed's newest
pieces, features a mold-blown rat
inside a vintage rat cage.

Two views of a tribute to Tidewater
Blues guitarist, John Jackson, which
includes a stained glass neck, mirrored
face, and dobro front, inside a guitar
case.

Organic Light
Form # 12,
including a
bonsai tree filled
with argon, neon,
and mercury

Sliding off the Edge of Creation, a
mold-blown slug on a base of fossilized
rock.

Detail of Sister Mary
Sockmonkey, a large
mixed-media piece which
includes a Tibetan
kapala and uranium
glass.

Ed's quite an accomplished flameworker,
specializing in traditional asian bat
beads. This necklace, The Fabulous
Bat, includes a mummified bat coated
with 25 layers of PMC slip before firing,
33 bat beads, with accent beads and a
toggle made by Martha; CeCe Wire
chose this piece for her latest book, New
Directions in Metal Clay. Many of our
flameworking classes include this
technique.