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Local artist channels the spirit of sustainable winemaking
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Local artist channels the spirit of sustainable winemaking
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| Courtesy of Newton Vineyard |
| The final Touch |
Glassblower, metalworker, lighting designer, motorcycle mechanic — artist John Pomp plies many creative trades in his new East Kensington studio. This multiplicity of skills came about by necessity. "You can't buy the equipment needed for glassblowing," he said, gesturing to his handmade furnace glowing red at 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. "It's so specialized there's no market for ready-made equipment, so you have to learn to make it yourself."
A graduate of Tyler School of Art's glassblowing program, Pomp's recent projects include lighting for the Andaz West Hollywood Hotel and accessories collections for Barneys and Neiman Marcus; his first pieces of a furniture collection debut this week at Gallery R'Pure on the edge of Chelsea. In December, Napa Valley winery Newton Vineyard tapped the artist for their second "Eco-Chic" collaboration, a commission to create a limited edition of a functional art object that embodies the winery's culture of sustainable, natural viticulture since its founding in 1977.
A visit to the winery estate inspired the fluid, raindrop shape of "the Touch," a decanter designed specifically for the varietals cultivated in Newton's hillside Spring Mountain vineyard. "When I went to Newton to learn about winemaking," said Pomp, "I felt their natural, organic sensibility in making wine was akin to what I do." Each piece includes 30 percent recycled glass and is entirely mouth-blown and shaped by hand. "Glassblowing hasn't changed much over hundreds of years," said Pomp, who has studied with the Italian maestros of Murano.
After each decanter is blown hot and gently flattened to make it comfortable to hold and pour, Pomp adds his final, literal touch to each piece (pictured). The central dimple serves to aerate Newton's unfiltered wines as well as ensure no two decanters are alike. Pomp likens working with molten glass to winemaking, saying "each piece bears the signature of my handiwork, much like a winemaker's hand shows in every bottle."
"The Touch" ($500) is available in a signed, numbered edition of 100 at newtonvineyard.com.
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