"This expansive, beautiful volume is supposedly 'just' the story of Josh Simpsons career. In truth its the story of the entire studio glass movement, seen through the life of one of the movements most prolific creators and steadfast teachers." -- Ulysses Grant Dietz, Chief Curator Emeritus, Newark Museum of Art A statement toward the end of this book (page 285) perhaps says it best: In 1971, Josh Simpson found a calling that he couldnt resist, and in the years that followed, the allure of this magical material never left him. His sense of wonder, enthusiasm, creativity, innate artistry and boundless energy, along with a dedication never to admit defeat in the face of frustrations and failures, led Simpson to develop startling new effects which he used to create a stunning body of work over the past fifty years. This book, filled with glorious photographs of his remarkable creations, placed within the framework of his odyssey, is filled with technical and personal insights and self-deprecating humor that helps explain why he has enjoyed such a spectacular and consequential career. -- --Dwight P. Lanmon, Former Director, The Corning Museum of Glass; Director Emeritus, The Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum Each day over the last 20 years I look at the Josh Simpson Planet on my desk and marvel . . . I now realize how incredible his journey has been to get on the other side of artistic complexity in creating clear beauty in glass that cannot help but connect all who see his work to the world around them. -- Tom Vilsack, former Governor of Iowa Ive known Josh for 45 of these 50 visionary years and have learned more about him from the insightful essays and his own humorous commentary in this beautifully illustrated book. -- John OHern, Santa Fe Editor, International Artist Publishing "Much more than one glass blowers personal journey, Josh Simpsons story speaks of the universal quest to find and follow ones dream. Whether realized in the fires of a glass furnace, found aloft in the cockpit of a plane, or in creating small treasures that lay waiting to be re-discovered in some of the planets most unlikely places, Simpsons life epitomizes Emersons maxim Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. -- --Douglas Heller, Co-founder of Heller Gallery
