Scott Benefield's work derives from nine centuries of Venetian glassblowing, with its traditional emphasis on thinly blown and finely detailed handblown wares.
The development of cane techniques on the island of Murano during the Renaissance was a departure from the traditional method of glassblowing, whereby a gather of glass was drawn from the furnace and inflated as a homogeneous mass. Working with cane, patterns were composed of separate pieces of glass that comprised the walls of the glass vessel when fused together and joined into a closed bubble. As the object is subsequently blown and stretched and tooled into its final shape, the embedded patterns indicate this process in a graphic way that is distinct from surface decorations that are imposed when the glass has cooled (such as engraving, cutting, screen painting, enamelling or the application of decals).
Working within this tradition, Benefield attempts to marry these ancient techniques to reductive, contemporary forms that have an evident function as tableware. Much of the line is intended to be used both in the kitchen and at the table or has a dual function (such as the small jug, which is often used as a vase). Scott produces other similar items that are not illustrated in this application, including larger pieces (platters, footed bowls), tumblers, candlesticks, etc.
Because all of Scott's work is produced entirely by hand, without the use of moulds or machinery, there are slight variations in each piece and they retain the hallmarks of handblown glass, such as the pontil mark on the base and some evidence of tooling. Branded packaging is included with all of the standard production pieces, as well as point of sale literature that gives the purchaser some information about us, our products and how to care for them.
