BENJAMIN MOORE
1952-2021
A friend, a mentor, and a leader of the glass community
"I met Benny when I was 15 years old. I had just started to blow glass. He was my idol, a glass-blowing hero. I loved what he did, different than all the other artists I’d been around growing up. When I was 17, I started working with him as the ‘punty boy’. His artwork and his encouragement inspired me like no one else. His kindness to me, a teenage wannabe, inspires me to this day to be as good of a person to others. He saw something in me and steered me in the right direction. I was able to be around him as I moved forward and he really made all the difference. I was fortunate to be part of the team on King street at ‘BMI’ and he was so good at encouraging all of us youngsters. As the years went by, I continued to be part of the team there and I thrived. Benny and I grew to be great friends. We did all kinds of stuff together outside, hunting birds, fishing, digging coastal razor clams, chewing tobacco, drinking, and just talking shit. He was a good-natured, uberliberal, redneck from Olympia, WA. I really do not think he had any idea about the difference he made to a generation. He was humble and cared about the people he liked, he thought had potential and drive. I have always felt that being a role model must be a big responsibility that you don’t aspire to, it just happens if you are good at something and kind to others. He did not really know that he was, he was just being Benny. I’ve lost one of my absolute best friends. I loved him so much and will miss him forever. One of a kind." - Dante Marioni "A large part of our education about studio glass in Seattle came from listening to Benjamin Moore; speaking on the phone from the west coast to the east, or when we visited with him and Debora each year. His deep appreciation and knowledge of glass, combined with his ability to share stories about the history and techniques are important to us as gallerists. His great commitment to his own work was to an ideal form created through the excellence of his technique. He said, “For me, the true challenge of creating an object is to give the piece a timeless presence or quality.” Though even more important to us, and what will be always remembered, is the warmth we felt, and the honest open way in which Benny was a friend. We miss him very much....and will remember his graceful nature and easy smile." - Kim Saul and Jim Schantz Benjamin Moore’s vital and lasting contributions to the development of American studio glass should not be overlooked or underestimated. Benny was a touchstone for the studio glass community, a pivotal personality, and a giant in the world of glass in the Pacific Northwest. His inspired designs, drawing on, developing, and expressing new forms for ideas found in early and mid-20th-century Venetian glass, have impressed generations of American artists. A vastly knowledgeable artist and maker, his Seattle studio was the center of much amazing creativity, with celebrated artists always eager to work with him and his glassblowing team. Benny was especially important to the community of Pilchuck. He was one of the dedicated educators who built Pilchuck into the institution it is today, serving the school for many years (at different times) as its education director, artistic director, and trustee. Benny will be keenly missed far and wide across the international studio glass network that he helped to establish, both for his talent as an artist and for his warm and outgoing personality. —Tina Oldknow "I loved Benny Moore. I first met him at Pilchuck and when he was a student of mine getting his MFA at RISD. He was a great guy and a skilled craftsman who made important work. Benny was an important contributor early on at Pilchuck, and it was he who brought the Italian Masters to the Northwest. He wore many hats at the school, serving as shop supervisor, education coordinator, and providing creative influence over 13 years, and another 30 years as a trustee. His contributions have been critical to Pilchuck’s success. My thoughts and prayers are with Benny’s lovely wife Debora, who also does such beautiful glass work." – Dale Chihuly GASNEWS
SUMMER 2021
VOLUME 35, ISSUE 1
3
