Glass artists at Cornwall Open Studios

David Willis and Jessica Landau were brought together by glass.

They each focus on using the medium for different types of art; he paints and sculpts, while she primarily creates jewelry and glassware.

The couple were part of the Cornwall Open Studio tour held Saturday, Sept. 5. They and their two young children cheerfully welcomed guests.

Their workspace is attached to their home on Cemetery Hill Road, where Willis’ large glass paintings are displayed on the walls and Landau’s jewelry can be seen neatly placed in compartmented cases.

A walk to the rear of the property offered a view of two of Willis’ sculptures, which appear to float in the air. Stainless steel is twisted in large loops, giving it a cloudlike feel, while long, thin glass tubes hang from its bottom edge.

David Willis creates sculptures from glass and stainless steel. Ruth Epstein

A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, Willis began working in glass in 1994.

“Glass is firm, unexplored because of things like painting, metals and ceramics. But it’s made art for centuries,” he said. He likes its shine and the fact that he can bend it with his hands.

Willis has taught at several schools, including the University of Washington, Corning Museum of Glass and Pilchuck Glass School in Washington, which is where he met his wife.

During the visit, a woman purchased glass tubing for flower arrangements, another of Willis’ creations.

Landau’s calling is designing tiny sculptures as wearables by infusing minerals into glass.

A graduate of Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia, she spent some years in Hawaii, where she apprenticed in her field for four years. She also served as a glassblower from 2014 to 2019 for the renowned Chihuly Studio and has taught the art at several schools and galleries.

“I’m drawn to the whimsical,” she said, pointing to pendants and earrings that feature figures of bacon and eggs, beer steins or mustaches. There are also many with floral patterns and other designs from the environment.

She noted that a lot of her designs come from either her love of nature or are inspired by childhood.

She pointed to the three kilns where she works with glass that she described as similar to Pyrex, the familiar cooking material.

“Glass is a material that cares how you treat it,” said Landau. “When you work with it, you come to know its rules. It’s precious, but in a different way from gems.”

Others who opened their studios that day were Lauren Brinkers, David Colbert, Magaly Ohika, Nick Jacobs, April Stewart Klausner, Legacy Glass Studio, Stephan Sagmiller, Souterrain Gallery and Sally Van Doren.