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Buzzini Paperweight at L. H. Selman Ltd. Auction
this paperweight originally sold for about $1500, and if you include Selman's 15% buyer's premium fee, it pushes the price realized for this paperweight to a bit over $3700!
Lot 143
Chris Buzzini 2002 one-of-a-kind flowers and berries
Bouquet paperweight. Small yellow sunflowers bloom
among white gentians, a spray of purple lilacs, dark red
raspberries, two large brown-speckled green leaves and
spiraling tendrils on a clear ground. Signed/dated. Dia. 3½".
$1600-$2500
Current Bid: Sold
$3250
The Oregonian - HGNW - A Torch for Nature
This latest post from... www.buzzinipaperweights.com ...contains
a recent article and most of the included photos which appeared in:
The Oregonian
Portland · Oregon · Homes & Gardens Northwest · September 27, 2007
NW ARTISANS
by Nanine Alexander Photos by Marv Bondarowicz
A TORCH FOR NATURE
A glass artisan re-creates his visions of flower and leaf
A week's worth of Chris Buzzini's work can be lost in the seconds it takes to pour molten glass over one of the floral sculptures he has painstakingly created.
"I can literally feel my heart muscle tighten," says the artisan, who re-creates nature in botanical paperweights. "The results are made or lost in the blink of an eye."
It is this do-or-die outcome that makes glass an irresistible medium for Buzzini, a solitary and spiritual artist.
"I try to take my vision of flowers and put it back into the glass," Buzzini says in his 500-square-foot workshop just beyond the garden of his Oregon City home.
Every paperweight is a miniature marvel. His artistry and technical skill shine through the crystalline spheres that cover his molded-glass bouquets of lady's slippers, lilacs, peonies and numerous other blooms.
Buzzini, 57, says he feels the pull of nature and art as a spiritual calling. "My talent is God-given. . . . I've asked for more talent and it's been given."
The work is tedious; the material temperamental.
Turning a slender rod of glass in the torch's flame until it softens into a green teardrop, Buzzini touches the tip with another glass rod, pulling it into an elliptical shape. He flattens it with tongs and returns it to the torch.
The technique is known as lampwork, and every petal and leaf is formed this way.
The behavior of glass under flame is predictable only within a narrow range of temperatures. It can't be touched by hand while it's being shaped. Everything, Buzzini explains, must be manipulated with a tool.
Buzzini began working in glass in art school and worked professionally at several highly regarded California art glass studios, including Orient & Flume, Lundberg Studios and Correia Art Glass. After 13 years as a studio artist, Buzzini launched his own studio in 1986. It was a step that both excited and frightened him. But he had strong encouragement from colleagues and fans.
"What I needed was a 16-hour day in my own studio, not eight hours in someone else's," says Buzzini. In 1991 he moved to Oregon, settling on a half acre on the outskirts of Oregon City.
Today, Buzzini works his own schedule, selling his paperweights through his Web site, www.buzzinipaperweights.com.
His floral creations shine as expressions of beauty and light.
By: Nanine Alexander: 503-221-8340; nalexander@news.oregonian.com 
Potpourri of Oregon Paperweight Personalities
Those of you that have perused the Buzz Blog in the past, know of my love of gardening. (If you haven't been here before, please view the other posts. Of late, in watching all the flowers grow in my garden, I have been absolutely intrigued by the centers of disk style flowers. So the other day I set out to make something a bit different for the centers of some "Oxeye Daisies" I was working on. The idea was to create a flower center that had greater detail and although it might not be botanically accurate, it would still be kind of botanically credible. I made a "honeycomb" style cane that has about 50 segments in it and then took two short pieces of that cane and headed out to my cold working shop to grind and polish them into small dome shaped pieces. Then back to the hot shop to fire polish them and use them in my flowers. The results are in my latest paperweight on my website and here are a couple of close-ups to allow a better look at the final result.
Oxeye Daisy with complex center
Straight in view
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Ken Rosenfeld was recently approached by a paperweight collector wanting a memorial paperweight created
in memory of a beloved family member. The creation of that paperweight and others since have lead Ken to
start a new paperweight sideline venture. The following two photos are from his new website for this venture at: www.cremainsincrystal.com
Website banner
Memorial paperweights by Ken Rosenfeld
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On a recent visit to Gary Scruttons "hot rod" shop in the Sellwood District of Portland I asked Gary how many
Parabelle paperweights he had remaining in his "retirement fund." The answer was about forty. Wow! I thought. After twelve years of producing magnificent millefiore paperweights, there are only about forty more to choose from. I picked up a half dozen and have posted them on my website. The stock number on the remaining Parabelle's on my website will be numbered starting with Parabelle_1 and when you see Parabelle_40 hit the web, you will know that the only place to acquire Parabelle paperweights in the future will be at auction or eBay! Here is Parabelle_1. http://www.glassartworld.com/M10023/105.asp
Parabelle_1
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As you might know, well known paperweight artist Randy Grubb, turned his attention to building monster size Hot Rods some years ago. His first build, the huge "Blastolene Special" was purchased by none other than car collector Jay Leno. Well, Randy has just completed his third car, the "Blastolene B-702" and he will be rubbing elbows with the rich and famous car collectors next weekend at Pebble Beach, California. Here is an excerpt from http://www.good-guys.com/news/newsStory.aspx?newsid=798
"Randy Grubb of Grants Pass, Oregon is putting the finishing touches on a creation he's calling the "B-702." A spectacular roadster based on the "French curve" boat tail roadsters of the 1930s. Built almost exclusively in house by Grubb (he hand built the entire car and performed all the fabrication other than the interior - which was done by Randy's Rods in Williams, Oregon), the "B-702" will make its long awaited debut the weekend of August 17-19 at the Pebble Beach Concours. http://www.pebblebeachconcours.net/
Inspired by the great "French Curve" cars of the 30's with a shot of Blastolene, the hand formed aluminum body and fenders ride on a custom 155" wheel base made out of 2"x 5" x 3/16" wall steel box tubing. The front axle is a custom oversized I-beam located by hand made hairpins and a custom tranverse leaf spring.
Here are a few "in progress" photos from the GoodGuys Rod & Custom Association.
Tail end
Front end and engine
Engine side view
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On now through October 31, 2007 "Beautiful Botanicals":
Vintage botanical prints from 1613-1920. On loan of courtesy Elisabeth Burdon and Oldimprints.com
Forty paperweights from area artists and collectors. Chris Buzzini, Ken Rosenfeld, Gary Scrutton in the billiard room. Others shown upstairs are Perthshire, Baccarat, St. Louis and Paul Stankard.
Pittock Mansion in Portland Oregon
Latest Blooms
One of the greatest rewards of gardening is to watch the flowers as they go through their different stages of growth. On my last post, I chose a close-up of a Raspberry Wine Bee Balm blossom. I was out in the garden this morning and to my surprise, the Bee Balm is blooming again right up through the first set of blossoms! Also included are some close-ups of other flowers that have just started blooming in the last few days.
Raspberry Wine Bee Balm
Bee Balm with double blossom
Frilly Shasta Daisy
Black-eyed Susan's
Red Gladiola
Chris Buzzini's Garden
One of the main reasons that there is not always a steady stream of Buzzini paperweights on my website is that I am often sidetracked on the way to my studio. The path to my studio is a very short one, maybe 125 feet, and on a rainy Oregon day it is easy to walk straight out to the studio to avoid getting drenched. But, the same does not hold true on a lovely spring or summer day. It is so easy for me to be taken in by a new blossom spotted from the path or a Golden Finch satisfying his hunger at one of my bird feeders. And once I leave the path...anything can happen! I might find myself weeding the flower beds or hunting for the most evasive moles I have known, or just sitting on one of my benches or chairs enjoying the fruits of my labor and the beauty that God bestows on all of us. It is so peaceful. It replenishes the spirit and offers great artistic inspiration. Gardening is truly another passion of mine. The first seven photos takes you up the path and to the studio, next a photo of a metal sculpture I made, then there are photos taken from other vantage points mixed in with some close-ups of flowers. I hope that you enjoy these photos!
Garden-1 Renee's Garden
Garden-2
Garden-3
Garden-4
Garden-5
Garden-6 Bowling Green
Garden-7 The Charles 'that would be me' Patio
Nakazono Garden
Buzzini metal sculpture
Coneflower 'Magnus'
Garden-West 1
Garden-West 2
Shasta Daisies
Stickseed
PITA Corner
Hosta Haven
Rasberry Wine Bee Balm
Garden-East
Sunwheel
Speedwell
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Mystery Flower (I lost the tag)
Gayfeather
Calla-Lily-Cove
2007 PCA Convention
Well, let's see what kind of mess I can make out of this! This is an attempt at the first entry for the newly created "Buzz Blog" and it is obvious to me that there is a learning curve to be able to use and manage a blog. I must apologize for the somewhat lengthy delay in uploading my PCA Convention update, however, since returning from the convention I have been dealing with some quite severe issues of an upper respiratory infection and asthma that landed me in the Emergency Room of my local hospital last week. Medication and some much needed rest seem to be helping and just in the nick of time as I have a paperweight class to teach, starting on Monday.
So on to the 2007 PCA Convention...Don't hold your breath...It is going to be awhile...
Left side of my booth.
right side of my booth.
A rose and two thorns. From the left, Chris Buzzini (lampwork paperweight artist), Suzanne Landis (A lovely rose and paperweight collector. Her husband Brian is behind the camera), and Drew Ebelhare (millefiore paperweight artist).
More to come, but probably not until about the 16th.