Kelly O’Dell, an acclaimed American glass artist, breathes life into her stunning sculptures inspired by animal forms from various geological eras, primarily focusing on marine creatures. Her artworks explore the delicate balance of nature, underlining the fragility and beauty of life, as well as the looming threats posed by human activity. Employing techniques like blowing, cold-working, and casting, O’Dell fashions intricate glass pieces that range from realistic shells to abstract, whimsical forms. Each sculpture invites us to marvel at oceanic diversity and complexity while reflecting on their individual relationship with the natural world.
Growing up near active volcanoes, O’Dell developed a poignant awareness of mortality, a theme she embeds deeply into her work alongside extinction, preservation, and origin. She masterfully uses glass to depict both the perceived fragility of nature and its enduring resilience. By combining materials such as metal, bronze, and wood with her glass techniques, she conveys profound messages — transforming thin, screen-printed glass powders into representations of animal extinction and casting thick, transparent blocks to symbolize hope in nature’s perseverance. Through her powerful art, O’Dell hopes to serve as a memento of our transient existence and the impact we leave behind as part of the Earth’s ever-changing story.
Coming from a place where active volcanoes constantly rumbled and gurgled, I grew up obsessed with my own mortality. Through sculpture, my work explores themes of “Memento Mori,” as well as extinction, preservation, and origin. It is fascinating and devastating that our existence has so much impact on the delicate balance of life, our own species included. I hope my artwork could serve as a reminder, or “Memento,” of our borrowed time. The Ammonite, an intelligent coiled-up cephalopod, became extinct 65 Million years ago, leaving impressions in its marine habitat to fossilize. Today, we can hold this time-teller in hand, and if we take a close look, we can notice the great difference between us. I think about what we will leave behind when we are gone, and what index fossils buried in our particular strata of time will look like. Although my main technique is Hot Glass Sculpture, I use Glass in a variety of ways, including screen-printing and fusing, cold-working and casting, and reflective mirror mosaic. Supporting materials are often metal, bronze, and wood. I enjoy combining processes and materials to convey my message. Glass often evokes a perceived fragility. With wafer-thin screen-printed glass powders, I am able to convey the commonly perceived fragility of glass within a theme like animal extinction. In contrast, Glass can also be massive and impervious. By casting thick blocks of transparent glass embedded with patterned inclusions, I try to communicate hope in Nature’s persistence.
Kelly O’Dell
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