“Incalmo” is a glassblowing technique wherein two or more pieces of glass are fused together to become one. And in this Traver Gallery show, two of the best Seattle-based glass artists on the scene, John Kiley and Dante Marioni, collaborated on a project that combines Kiley’s eye for color with Marioni’s way with patterns, calling on their decades-long friendship. So here "incalmo" acts as both a metaphor and explication of what you're seeing in front you. Get it!?

The fourteen sculptures that compose Incalmo are spherical in form, just on the verge of rolling right off the stand. Kiley and Marioni are not only close friends but were also both mentored by Maestro Lino Tagliapietra, a Venetian glass artist who is credited with bringing glassblowing processes and techniques from his native Murano to the US.

Each sculpture in the show plays with different combinations of light, pattern, and form. My favorite—"Reticello Sunset"—fuses together the summery colors of pink and yellow (how can you not think of strawberry lemonade) with the intricate swirling pattern in the middle. I love the way the sculpture lives another life through its shadow, by which I mean the way the light is thrown on the white background. Looking at its shadow is almost as entrancing as looking at the object itself. Incalmo closes November 9—get out there and see it!