01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, July 23, 2006

BY BILL VAN SICLEN
Journal Arts Writer

BROCKTON, Mass. -- Fans of East Providence glassmaker Daniel Clayman often use similar words to describe his work -- words like "spare," "elegant," "evocative" and "translucent."

Not surprisingly, these words also describe "Line, Form, Shadow," a gallery-filling installation that Clayman has created at Brockton's Fuller Craft Museum.

One word, however, doesn't apply to the installation, which remains on display through Oct. 1.

The word? Glass.

"Basically, it's an experiment that got a little out of hand," Clayman says of "Line, Form, Shadow," which consists of hundreds of sheets of yellow tracing paper attached to a series of curving metal wires. "I'd always been fascinated by paper, which has some of the translucency of glass but is obviously much cheaper and easier to work with. That's how it started."

A 1986 graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Clayman says he began thinking about the installation four years ago, when he was invited to exhibit his work at what was then the Fuller Museum of Art.

At the time, it was assumed that Clayman would exhibit some of the elegantly austere glass sculptures that have earned him a reputation as one of the top young glassmakers in the Northeast.

Made using a process known as pate de verre, Clayman's glass sculptures often combine basic geometric shapes such as cubes, cones and triangles with more evocative forms that suggest ancient tools and ceremonial objects. This old-new effect is enhanced by the pate de verre technique, in which tiny pieces of crushed glass are worked into a thick paste (pate de verre means "glass paste" in French) before being fired in a kiln.

Unlike the clear, sinuous shapes produced by traditional glass-blowing, pate de verre is typically darker and heavier -- more like dense hunks of glacial ice than the crystal clarity of blown glass.

Over the years, Clayman's glass sculptures have found their way into a number of important museum collections, including those of the American Craft Museum, the Corning Museum of Glass and the Milwaukee Art Museum. But being closely identified with a single material can also be confining, he says.

"Right now, it's hard to imagine a time when I won't be using glass," he says. "But there are also some things I'd like to do that I can't do with glass. For example, the kind of (glass) sculptures that I'm making now work very well on a small scale, but not on a larger scale."

Clayman says his desire to "work big" also got a boost from his growing facility with a computer-modeling program called Rhinoceros. Originally developed as a way for architects and designers to turn two-dimensional drawings into 3-D images, Rhinoceros -- "Rhino," for short -- can take something as simple as a doodle and turn it into a lifelike virtual sculpture.

What's more, Rhino allows users to go from very small to very large simply by inputting a different set of numbers.

"The great thing is that you don't need to be a computer nerd to use it," Clayman says. "Most of the my pieces still start the same way they always did -- with me drawing a sheet of paper. But now, I can make a drawing, scan it into the computer and manipulate any way I want."

The big idea

Clayman, of course, isn't the first glassmaker to realize that size matters.

Glassmaking superstar -- and former RISD professor -- Dale Chihuly, for example, began his career making relatively small-scale sculptures inspired by Native American pottery and textiles. Now he designs multimillion-dollar ceilings and chandeliers for Las Vegas casinos.

Another supersizer is Providence glassmaker Howard Ben Tre. Though best known for his massive cast-glass sculptures, Ben Tre has also designed a number of even larger architectural pieces, including fountains for Boston's Post Office Square Park and Mary Baker Eddy Library.

Unlike Chihuly and Ben Tre, however, Clayman had never actually worked on a project as large as the one he envisioned for the Fuller show. And how would museum officials react when they found out his plans called for a 16-foot high installation made of paper and metal, not glass?

"It was a little intimidating," Clayman concedes.

As it turned it, Clayman needn't have worried. For one thing, the Fuller Museum of Art had recently undergone its own transformation, changing its name to the Fuller Craft Museum and shifting its mission from that of a traditional all-purpose art museum to one focused exclusively on contemporary craft.

The museum also had a new director, Gretchen Keyworth, who was willing to let Clayman and other artists test their creative limits.

"I have to admit that we were a little shocked when Dan presented his idea to us in January," says Keyworth. "Obviously, we know him as a hugely talented glassmaker. But this was clearly something new."

New, perhaps, but not completely different.

In fact, as Clayman explained during his presentation, the cone-like shapes that appear in "Line, Form, Shadow" had been part of his work for several years. Inspired by slanting shafts of light, these gently curving forms can suggest everything from sheltering tents and domes to exotic seashells to billowing sails.

Ultimately, Keyworth and other museum officials were convinced.

"After hearing Dan's presentation, it was obvious that this was something he was very passionate about," Keyworth says. "So we said, 'Go for it!' "

Setting sail

Thanks to the Rhino program, jumping from the 8-to-9-foot scale of Clayman's largest glass sculptures to the 16-foot scale of "Line, Form, Shadow" was relatively easy. The hard part was figuring out what materials to use and how to create the necessary support structure.

Clayman solved the second problem by devising a system of wire supports that could be attached to metal tracks fastened to the gallery's floor and ceiling. The wires, which form two overlapping semicircles, add to the installation's sail-like effect.

Standing between them, you can easily imagine yourself perched on the deck of a sailboat as it slices through the surf.

After weighing several options, Clayman decided to cover his sculptural "sails" with sheets of yellow tracing paper. Why?

"Because I like the color and translucency," Clayman says. "Plus, it's the stuff I use for my drawings, so I'm very familiar with it."

Looking ahead, Clayman says he'd like to create similar works on an even larger scale.

" 'Line, Form, Shadow' is a step on a road that, hopefully, will lead to even larger pieces, maybe even some form of public sculptures," he says. "Initially, I wasn't sure how well these shapes would work at a larger scale, or even whether I could make the transition from glass to other materials. But so far, the response has been great."

The Fuller Craft Museum is at 455 Oak St. in Brockton, Mass. Hours: Mon.-Fri. 10-5. Admission: $8 adults, $5 seniors and students, free under 12. Phone: (508) 588-6000. (Note: Daniel Clayman will discuss his work at the museum on Aug. 6 at noon.)