What began as an informal effort in the 1980s, with Dale Chihuly and William Morris creating small centerpieces for the school’s early auctions, has grown into a prestigious design competition offering artists significant exposure to an international community of contemporary glass enthusiasts. Auction centerpieces provide the visual signature for each Pilchuck Auction, setting the design theme for save-the-date cards, invitations, the catalog, and this evening. And tonight’s centerpieces, designed by Seattle-based artist Chuck Lopez, represent a new peak in the school’s centerpiece program.

Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, Lopez began working with glass in 1989 at a production studio in nearby Boulder. After seven years of experience working with glass in a production environment, he shifted his attention to completing a master of fine arts degree at Alfred University in New York. Lopez’s involvement with Pilchuck reaches back to 1994. He has been a volunteer, student, summer staff member, teaching assistant and emerging artist in residence. No stranger to the centerpiece program, Lopez previously served as program manager for the school’s centerpiece production in 2004 and 2005. He teaches glassblowing at Seattle’s Pratt Fine Arts Center while pursuing his own art.

Lopez explains the animating ideas behind this design. “On one level, the entire project for me was a process of exploration. An exploration of the color interactions and relationships, and how the different combinations of interior and exterior colors affected the work.” But color was only one component of his design. Lopez continues, “In addition there was an exploration of form. To my eye all the centerpieces are the same form, or at least the same category of form, even though they are all individuals.”

Although Lopez has been integral to Pilchuck’s centerpiece program for three years, this year’s experience was different. “The centerpiece blow at Pilchuck was an amazing experience for me and it’s one that I will probably not get to repeat on a regular basis. To see an idea develop, expand, and become a reality, to observe the making of over 100 pieces in less than ten days was very powerful. One of the most powerful moments for me was to see the entirety of the centerpieces together in one place on campus, to see thee totality of the project and the variety of both color and form. It was a rich enough experience that I have not yet realized everything that I learned from the project.”

Four months later, Lopez remains profoundly affected by the experience and by the group of talented artists who were integral to the 2006 centerpiece production. “The centerpieces would not exist if it were not for the hard work of a very skilled team. I had the great fortune to work with a team of 21 glass artists from around the world, Canada, the United States, Japan, and Denmark. Some of these artists I have know for over ten years and others I met for the first time at the beginning of this project. I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone on the team for their effort and dedication in making my ideas come to life. And a special thanks to Chuck Vannatta and Jasen Johnsen, the two gaffers, for making work that I never would have been able to make on my own and to Kelly O’Dell, the project manager, for keeping track of the entire project.”