In 1992, a friend offered Gordinier a commission to make a
unique piece for the lobby of her interior design firm. He conceived
the notion of casting, in three separate pieces, a tiered 12-foot glass
countertop that became a horizontal sculptural feature. “The result
was breathtaking. I found it exhilarating to make gorgeous, authentic
art that people could live with in their homes and businesses and
incorporate into their lives. I thought this is something I could do
for the rest of my life. I quit clay cold turkey and went into glass
casting.” He began making abstract glass paintings and expanded
to more countertops and standing screens as well as architectural
cast glass with walls, inlaid staircases and platforms, bridges, ceil-
ings, and inlaid floors.
Gordinier takes pleasure in making glass art that a user encoun-
ters and interacts with on a day-to-day basis. “For me, functional
interaction doesn’t diminish the power of art. It truly expands it.
I designed a swirling three-story spiral staircase that was inspired
by watching the currents of a river while I was fly-fishing.” Art,
Gordinier believes, can come from anywhere and exist anywhere.
Recently, he has been engaged in making healing gardens and plazas
for health care facilities, suggesting that his patrons, too, recognize
the inspiration and power within his vision.
Speaking a New Language
Moving from display into architectural glass was a particularly
critical and gnarly challenge. The potential of glass as a medium
to introduce color and light into architectural design was obvious.
But Gordinier was knocking on the doors of architects and builders
for several years without success, making little headway against
their concerns that glass was an undependable material, subject to
cracking, breakage, and scratching, or even explosion in extreme
conditions. Eventually, he realized that he needed to be speaking
their language if he hoped for any success expanding into the ar-
chitectural realm.
“They needed something that would stand up to the scrutiny
of building inspectors. I took my glass to a testing lab and had it
certified as a structural building material. At 1-1/2 inches thick,
every square foot of glass is good for 1,600 pounds of pressure.
Building codes require that materials support 760 pounds. Once I
had the stamped certification papers in hand, it provided the cred-
ible evidence that architects and engineers needed to be willing to
talk to me.” In 1998, Gordinier reports, he caught the attention of
architectural firms and started getting projects in Seattle, Washing-
ton. That gave him an entrée to expand his work into architectural
glass on projects throughout the American West.Walter Gordinier, Blue Line, 8' x 10' x 1-1/2", 2005. Private, Oregon.http://www.GlassArtMagazine.com Glass Art TM • May/June 2016 • 35