FRONT & CENTER
The evolution of artist David Kolasky By Mala Blomquist
D
avid Kolasky wasn’t sure what to expect when he moved his family from Philadelphia, PA, to accept a hospital administration position in Toledo, OH, in the early 1980s. But what was supposed to be a two-year stint turned into 30, and it was there that he discovered the medium that ignited his passion as an artist. Toledo earned its nickname of “The Glass City” in the early 1900s because it was a manufacturing hub across the glass industry – bottles, window glass, tableware, windshields and construction materials. Glassmaker Edward Drummond Libbey founded the Toledo Museum of Art in 1901and it quickly amassed several significant glass collections. Today, the museum’s American glass collections are one of the largest of its kind and contain objects of exceptional quality of historical importance. A significant component of the museum is also community education, some of that being through art classes. It was there that David took his first glass blowing class. “I spent a lot of time there,” says David. “They built a glass pavilion, where all the walls in the facility are glass. So you can see what people are doing (making glass objects). It was just a remarkable place.” David also got into a glass blowing program at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH. BGSU was one of the first glass programs in a university in the United States. “I would go down there two to three times a week, and there was always an empty space to blow, and I would David’s art includes ceramics, knifemaking and wood turning.
52 MARCH/APRIL 2021 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE
