In a massive brick building on Royal Street in the Bywater Section of New Orleans, James Vella goes about creating his glass art with the intensity of a brain surgeon. “This isn’t for the faint of heart,” he said with a smile in a room filled chock-a-block with his handsome creations.
“Welcome to Vella Vetro Art Glass,” he continued as he started to tell the story of how he graduated from Hastings College in Nebraska with a degree in studio painting and discovered his love of glass as art as he pursued his graduate studies at the same place.
He gravitated to New Orleans in 1994 following his pilgrimage to find just the right place to pursue his profession of making glass as art. It is here Vella plies his craft with pride and diligence day-by-day with a rigid, self-imposed schedule. “It takes dedication and perseverance but I’m not complaining; I’m doing what I love,” he said.
Today Vella focuses his attention on classical Italian hand-blown glass, the Venetian style of hot sculpting. He pays close attention to the traditions of glass design and to the design itself. “My work has transpired into an elaborate vocabulary of sculptural elements that I believe to be my artistic voice,” he explained.
Vella’s studio is filled with examples of his talent. “Here are my delicate glasses fit for a King’s table,” he said as he took an example of his work from a tall shelf. Then he smiled and added, “maybe a king of a carnival ball.” He definitely has created a treasure trove of elegant glassware fit for any fine bountiful table for the holiday season.
Fish indigenous to Louisiana have a place of honor in his studio. He displays them with pride on broad, sturdy shelves and likes to pick each one up to describe in detail what species of fish it is. He is especially proud of the fish created for his original hand-blown glass art installation celebrating the bounty of Louisiana’s waterways and the Louisiana way of life.
“It was commissioned by Deanie’s Seafood and a joy to create,” he said. Today his work can be viewed at Deanie’s Seafood Restaurant at Iberville and Dauphine streets in the French Quarter. “Deanie’s dedicated the art installation to the American Wetland Foundation, which works to raise awareness of the impact of wetland loss and to support conservation efforts through its Campaign to Save Coastal Louisiana,” Vella said.
Another of Vella’s projects was a tablescape for his acclaimed show at the Eisch Glaskultur Gallery in Germany’s Bavarian Forest. “It was a unique 25-foot-by-36-inch tablescape where everything was made of glass, even the food,” he explained. “The show came at the end of a month I spent as an artist in residence at the world-famous Eisch Factory in Frauenau, Germany.
“It’s a joy to be a glass artist and craftsman,” he said. “I am proud to be called both an artist and a craftsman. Each day brings a new creation, and I can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring.”
Details. Details. Details.
Vella Vetro Art Glass
3000 Royal Street
New Orleans 70130
(504) 481-8875
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