Michelle Rial at Old Town Triangle Art Center
by Kevin Kent
The Artist conversing
Art defined in this day and age can be expressed in many ways. A painting. A drawing. A film. A literary piece from within the mind of a deep thinker. Maybe even this report about a glass transfusing artist. Well, here at her first solo exhibition tucked away in the neighborhood of Old Town on Chicago’s near north side, Michelle Rial, coming out of small town Serena, Illinois, required no aggressive inquisition into what gets her creative juices flowing and how the end result renders the art viewing world with her glass art as developed through a craft generally known as glass transfusion.
"Dragon Glass"
It is a craft that requires a few layers of fusing glass cut to order, a kiln for fusing these layers together and a bit of creativity. From concept to finished product, Ms. Rial applies six necessary steps in realizing the end result (see website: www.GlassTF.com for a complete exhibition). Her work is done out of her home studio and is consistent with images and objects from the natural world all around her–nothing abstract, nothing that requires any superficial philosophies or theories about what this down-to-earth artist’s intentions are. Whether it is a rendition of a dragon, a tiger lily or some exotic animal, from flora to fauna, what is so fascinating about her work, is the attention to detail.
"Gisha Glass"
Following her completion and reception of a Fine Arts degree in Visual Communication from Northern Illinois University, Ms. Rial sought out a way to satiate a creative appetite that would not subside. In time, she would discover it while working for Bal Graphics in Chicago. She pursued a route that introduced her to stained glass art. For short time she was able to feed and harbor that creative appetite but before long, even that creative medium wore out its welcome in Ms. Rial’s life.
Enter fusing glass. “What’s that?”, she said one day while shopping for supplies for a stained glass project. That one question is one that opened the door to the artist currently known as Michelle Rial. When discovering what fusing glass was used for, she in turn, took it upon herself to learn how to creatively fuse it according to what she envisioned. And envision she did. With an array of glass pieces available for the public to see and purchase, she continues to outdo herself while seeking out new concepts for her future work.
Today, Michelle is currently married and living with her husband who supports her as she continues in her creative ventures.
