Punty Show Recap – Everett, WA 4/1/17
“Sorry boys- these tubes were too hot for TSA!” said the guy covered in Nintendo themed tattoos, walking through the doors of Everett, Washington’s 52nd Glass Shop. The date is April 1st, 2017- April Fool’s Day. Punty’s known to be fashionably late, so none of the collectors were overly stressed. Everyone was just excited to meet the man behind some of their favorite artwork and to behold the sight of the three beautiful tubes he created for the occasion.
First- a little background. Punty, or Puntington Rainbow Wig Wag, is one of the most sought after artists in the world of borosilicate glass. Punty earned his wings under the direction of the legendary alien Scott Deppe at the Mothership in Bellingham, Washington. Here is where he began to perfect the process of the disc flip, otherwise known as a “cut n’ flip.” A disc flip is, very basically explained, a drawing made out of very tiny “stringers” of colored glass. The process required to create one, let alone one as flawless as the disc flips Punty is able to produce, is both massively difficult and time consuming. Punty spent many years since the days of the Mothership perfecting his craft- so much so that he is widely considered to be the most skilled disc flipper in the glassblowing game. He now resides just outside of Denver, Colorado where he continues to hone his skills- he is known for his disc flip “tubes” which feature a simple, classic water pipe shaping with one or multiple disc flips placed into the outer walls of the piece. He frequently makes us of nostalgic video game imagery such as the Super Mario Bros or Pokemon. Pictured is one of the Puntington tubes I have been lucky enough to own- titled “The Smoke Waker”. This tube features images from “The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker” a video game made for the Nintendo Gamecube in 2002. These images are placed over a “Blue Dream” background, creating one of my favorite pieces of art to ever exist.
For this show, three unique tubes were created. The first, known as “Ice Wax Mario” featured images of Ice Mario and the Ice Flower over a background. This tube was absolute perfection- I wish I would’ve been able to purchase it myself, if I’m honest. The second tube was titled “Skunk Weed” and featured Pepe Lepew the Skunk with a unique, skunk-tail patterned neck. A friend purchased this tube and I was fortunate enough to take (more than a) few dabs out of it over the weekend- it shreds just as beautifully as it looks. The third and final Punty tube created for the show displayed some of Punty’s original artwork- designs he created himself. It was heavily fumed and had a rainbow attachment on the back that’s unlike any I’ve ever seen on another Punty tube.
All three new tubes found happy homes that night- As well as multiple other sales including a Joe Peters collab that was sold to a collector who had waited outside of 52nd with a sign welcoming Punty for three- that’s right, three- whole days. And you claim you’re dedicated to the heady scene?
Written by: Jake Jablonski @trapwook
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