PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN SOBCZAK
hen Gail Katz remarried in 1993, her book club
gave her a delicate glass dish. The 10x8-inch
James Wilbat piece blends pink, purple, black
and white and sits on a living room table, hold-
ing glass candies.
That gift became a foundation for her marriage.
Now, Katz and her husband travel the world collecting glass;
nearly 80 colorful pieces fill their Bloomfield Hills house, many
of which they bought in Ashville, N.C., Aspen, Colo., and Italy,
for $100 to $15,000 apiece.
The fragility of glass is a metaphor for relationships, says
Katz. "Glass can be beautiful, but it can shatter. It's very frag-
ile. You have to step back and respect the glass for its beauty."
April is glass month, a nationwide celebration of the art. Jon
Liebman, president of the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass
in Urbana, Ill., says glass is "seductive. Everybody is grabbed
by the medium, collecting pieces that are beautiful and that
have optical qualities." The alliance claims more than 500
members.
Raised in Maryland as the daugh-
ter of an artist, Katz admired her
mother's glass paperweight collec-
tion. 'When she designed her own
home, Katz went for "color and
sparkle — I don't like glass that's
opaque or has a gilded look to it."
Her favorite piece, "Obsessive
Cheeks" by Stephen Powell, stands
taller than two feet. Shaped as a
derriere, the glass is thin and bub-
ble-like with a scaly pattern of col-
ors. Katz likes its sensuousness.
She proudly displays a piece by
New Yorker John Kuhn, too. The
clear square with geometric forms
interlacing inside stands on end,
illuminated by a spotlight, which
sparkles rainbows on the wall.
Katz's glass collection comprises many different
Her house has windows and mir-
shapes, colors and sizes. The circular piece is "Red
rors, light furniture and soft woods;
Shift" by Gary Beecham.
glass adds spunk to every room.
The family room has glass tables,
shiny window hangings, a cat with kittens and a lamp, among
other pieces. The living room bar has shelves of vases with
faces, wine glasses, bowls. The oak front doors are inlaid with
custom John Hadd panels, and the dining room features an
impressive chandelier of painted, blown glass from Denmark.
Next on their itinerary is a trip to Oregon to visit the artist of
the glass-faced grandfather clock that stands in their foyer.
"About five years ago, when I bought the Powell piece, that's
when I knew we were hooked," says Katz, her eyes gleaming,
shiny as glass.
W
The "Pink Slip" by artists
Deana Blanchard and Chuck
Young of Serena Glass frames
the window on the landing in
the Katz home.
— Lynne Schreiber
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