For this year’s Tech Issue, we want to introduce Patrick McDougall, aka Subliminal Glass (@subliminalglass). He has taken his decade-plus experience with borosilicate glass and introduced plasma-filled vessels into his work.
This mix of inert gas, when energized, fills the tubes with ambient light. Plasma follows a seemingly random path in the enclosed spaces but also reacts to touch, like a plasma globe. The aesthetic opens up many doors, and being in the presence of one of these pieces provides a truly unique experience. You can literally feel the energy.
McDougall cut his teeth in the industry in Portland, Oregon. Getting started, his gig was making hundreds of production chillums every day, a common practice in the glassblowing industry. Before attempting complicated high-end pieces, an artist evolves their skill set by making simple functional pieces like spoons and chillums, which then leads to bubblers and so on.
Eventually, he built his own shed shop and started exploring glass on his own terms. This led to years of working on hollow vessels and color application, as well as building relationships throughout the industry.
You can see a couple of recent pieces created by McDougall and friends here. The aquarium scene, created with Joe P Glass of Colorado, is absolutely stunning. A vivid mixture of lifelike colors and sculptures really brings the pieces to life. Each one has intricate details that contain both active plasma elements and UV-reactive glass. Functional elements are also hidden in these works.
The display case has dichroic glass on the sides, creating a stunning visual by muting certain colors and changing others. The jellyfish, spider and mosquito sculptures McDougall created with Scoz Glass of Seattle show how many visual effects can be produced by incorporating plasma. You wouldn’t know when they are powered up, but these pieces are made from completely clear borosilicate glass. While hard to show on the page, you can envision the sensation when you see the electrified gases create a current in response to your touch. Imagine interacting with that while you’re taking your next dab. While plasma has been utilized in glass for visual effect before, one of the unique things we noticed was McDougall’s original design for powering up his pieces so that they can be removed from their displays for transportation, as you would want with any of your collection.
When he’s not on the torch or hiking with his dogs, he is high — I mean, really high, like jumping out of planes high. A hobby he’s had for years, McDougall has even been able to barter some of his pieces for trips up to jump. Today, you will find him creating art in his home studio in a serene spot along the East Fork Lewis River outside Vancouver, Washington.
Coming up next for McDougall: A huge installation of plasma art will be going up in Seattle for a month-long opening. The event details are currently under wraps, but when word gets out, you will definitely hear about it.
