In psychology, transitional objects are beloved items that help people adjust to change. We often see these with children—a cherished blankie or well-worn teddy that tags along on trips or to doctor’s appointments—but adults use them too. Think of the sweatshirt from college you still wear despite its tattered sleeves, just to remember the feeling from that time, or the seashell gathered at a family reunion that now sits on the windowsill in your kitchen to remind you of loved ones every time you do the dishes.These objects connect us emotionally to experiences and places that have meant something to us—things we don’t want to forget. They allow us to memorialize joy, to cope with loss, and to process change. It is the quiet power of transitional objects that has inspired glassblower Lee Gordon. Based in Kennebunk, he crafts unique functional and sculptural works that we can take home with us, carrying a sense of place into our everyday lives.
Lee began using his glass-blowing craft to make functional, portable, and indeed transitional artworks almost as organically as the kaleidoscopic, nature-hued patterns he weaves throughout each one. In 2020 he and his wife moved from the north shore of his native Massachusetts to the rocky coast of Maine. Having vacationed in Kennebunk as a kid, Lee already had emotional ties to the area, “I associated it with leisure and pleasure,” he shares. Yet only a month later expectations fueled by fond memories disintegrated as the world went into lockdown. Isolated and unable to integrate with the community at that time, the newcomers took to the beaches, combing the sand for treasures. “My wife collected sea glass,” Lee recalls, “and I’d return home with rocks bulging out of my pockets.” In the end it was this simple ritual that cemented his sense of place here in Maine and served as inspiration for some of his most popular works. “Touchstones”, a series of small sculptures designed to fit comfortably in the hand, were created to “mimic sea glass sitting on a stone.” They’re hot sculpted, Lee explains—color is added at a whopping 2,000°F, after which each piece is sandblasted into its final form. These works memorialize a connection forged with Maine’s rocky shore in those early days—bridging the gap between what he’d imagined for his new life here and what it became at that time. “Touchstones”, as well as his other works, both sculptural and functional, such as vases and vessels, have touched others as well. “If a collector finds my work and brings it home, it evokes the memory of the place they went,” Lee shares. “It brings them back to the trip they took, the landscape they visited, the picture they see in their own imagination projected onto the landscape of the glass.”
Indeed, Lee’s painterly application of pigment and texture suggests elemental interplay, evoking New England vibes through and through. You can explore these handcrafted glass keepsakes and find your own transitional objects to carry meaningful memories into everyday spaces via his website, gordoglass.com, or on Instagram where he regularly shares newer pieces. His work is also available to peruse and purchase in person at Maine Art Hill gallery in Kennebunk, as well as at a number of annual craft shows such as the Camden Arts Festival, the Bar Harbor Fine Arts Festival, and the Portland Fine Craft Show. ▪
