Description

This is a brilliant blue glass footed vase designed by Wayne Husted for Stelvia, an acronym for the Società Toscana Esercizio Lavorazione Vetri Industriali e Artistici, in Empoli, Italy.  It has a raised flower design and was part of the Antigua line.  If you place this vase on a table near a window it absolutely glistens.  A real beauty.

Details

• Blown and textured glass
• 10 1/2" tall, 8" wide, 4" deep
  
• Excellent condition

About the Designer

Wayne Husted was born in Hudson, New York in 1927. He studied ceramics at Alfred University.  The summer before his graduation he worked at the philanthropic McNay Trust in Texas, lived in the huge vacant studio of Gutzen Borgium, the sculptor who created Mt. Rushmore, and apprenticed with the famous ceramist Harding Black. Husted was able to throw pots on Harding’s wheel, mix his glazes and learn more skills needed for his upcoming job at the University of Illinois at Carbondale.  But life took an unexpected turn when instead he joined the venerable Blenko Glass Company in Milton, West Virginia as Director of Design. Legend has it that upon meeting William Blenko, Sr., Wayne told him that he had no experience with glass. William’s response, apparently typical of his personality, was, “Great! Then you’ll try things you wouldn’t try if you knew something about glass.” Husted did not disappoint and during his ten years at Blenko, he created over 60 new designs every year, resulting in over 600 unique designs.  In 1972 he moved out to the San Francisco Bay Area and founded Wayne Husted Designs.  That began a long and successful career as a product design consultant for many large and small U.S. and international corporations, include Viking, Anchor Hocking, Stelvia, Bishoff, as well as other collaborations with Blenko. Many of his distinctly sculptural, sometimes architectural, designs are held in museum collections and sought after by private collectors nationwide. Now in his nineties, Husted is still designing in glass, working with glass studios nationwide, and developing new techniques that push the properties and capabilities of hand-blown glass.