Lunch on Fridays: Kari Russell-Pool

Spend a lunch hour learning about the latest in art and design during these Friday lectures. Each lecture features a variety of artists and designers from around the world, including CIA faculty and visiting artists. This event is free and open to the public. Pizza and beverages will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis.

Kari Russell-Pool is best known for her innovative approach to flame-worked glass. Her work is painterly—pulling her own glass canes and coloring them with glass powders, allows for crossover between the hot shop and the torch.

Filled with personal content and commentary about our present society, the hard work of relationships, and her experience as a mom, Kari's work tells many stories. From quilts and teapots, to sailors' valentines and cages, she is interested in the stories objects tell and how we elevate them into heirlooms. Her current body of work speaks directly to her experience as the mother of teenagers.

A 1990 graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art, Kari returned to Cleveland after a 19-year tenure in Connecticut. She shares her studio with her husband and sometime-collaborator, Marc Petrovic, who chairs the Glass department at the Cleveland Institute of Art.

Image: It Takes a Village, 2015. Flame-worked glass installation, approx 23x72x28 in.

Website: http://www.karirussell-pool.com/