Preston Singletary - Frog Hat

Tlingit artist Preston Singletary began working in glass shortly after he graduated high school in the early 1980s and continues to work primarily in the medium to this day. His decades-long career has earned him international fame and exhibitions at institutions such as the Smithsonian National Museum and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

Frog Hat was blown in the shape of a traditional woven cedar bark hat and features a flat Frog design cleverly wrapped around the hat's conical top. As is typical for Preston, the design work is breathtakingly clean and composed -- clear formline in contrast with frosted negative space deftly solves the issue of readability in a transparent three-dimensional sculpture. Frog Hat is certified vintage, having been created in 1999, and a rare collectible piece from one of North America's preeminent Indigenous glass artisans.

"When I began working with glass in 1982, I had no idea that I'd be so connected to the material in the way that I am. It was only when I began to experiment with using designs from my Tlingit cultural heritage that my work began to take on a new purpose and direction. Over time, my skill with the material of glass and traditional form line design has strengthened and evolved, allowing me to explore more fully my own relationship to both my culture and chosen medium. My work with glass transforms the notion that Native artists are only best when traditional materials are used. It has helped advocate on the behalf of all Indigenous people—affirming that we are still here—that that we are declaring who we are through our art in connection to our culture."

-Preston Singletary