2024: In Reflection
End of year greetings from Preston Singletary Glass Studio. It was a year of new directions with my collaborations with Garth Stein who helped me string together concepts for new stories of what Raven is up to in our current world. Garth Stein is an internationally acclaimed novelist and ranked on the NY Times best seller list. He has Tlingit ancestry like me. We met around 1999 after I read his novel, Raven Stole The Moon, after which he returned to Seattle to live.
Raven, one of the central figures in ancient Tlingit mythologies, is now busy analyzing the world as it is today, and like how he brought order to the world through his adventures (and misadventures), he realizes that there are things in the world that need to be brought to light. I have been thinking of this ever since working with Walter Porter on the Raven and The Box of Daylight traveling exhibit, and learned about the metaphors embedded in the story. These Raven stories draw from old stories, but weave in the current world and topics that are happening today. Garth brings Raven to life with his wit and skill, and his own observations and contributions based on current news events.
Otherwise, I was able to make a trip to Venice and Murano to visit my great friend/teacher/mentor Lino Tagliapietra in the Spring. This was a very important trip for me to pay respect to this great man who befriended and encouraged me over the years. I was able to bring my wife Åsa and my kids Orlo and Lydia to see him and visit. We had a great afternoon with a fabulous meal prepared by his wife Lina.
The year was also gearing up for The Sleeping Beauty ballet, as I have been working on the set design which will debut at the Pacific Northwest Ballet on January 31st 2025 for a 10 day run. This was initially an unexpected opportunity, and it has been super fun to work with Peter Boal, the Creative Director for PNB to develop this production.
Looking to the future, I have been working with Spike Mafford, a childhood friend and photographer, to develop a concept for a show dealing with art and environment, climate change and Tlingit language/history. We’d like to create monumental photographs of my work and human subjects in situ within spectacular strands of trees. Spike and I went to middle school together in Seattle and our art careers developed in a parallel trajectory. Navigating into new mediums has always been an interesting process for me and I’m excited to develop this work with Spike.
Another opportunity developed through the National Nordic Museum in Seattle to have a show together with my wife, Åsa Sandlund in 2026. We spent the first several years of our life in Seattle making glass work together even while she was working full time with Nordstrom. The Museum Curator, Leslie Anderson, was aware of this, and made the suggestion to highlight our creative life together. What an opportunity! Åsa and I met through glass on a work trip I was on with Lino Tagliapietra in 1993. We moved back to Seattle from Sweden to participate in the momentum of the glass community in the Northwest.
On the music front, my band Khu.éex’ released a new album called Siyáadlan (Seattle in the Haida language). Siyáadlan’s music revolves around the Urban Indian experience of Native families from non-local tribes who have found themselves relocated to Seattle. Narratives of this music reflect these experiences, ranging from generational gatherings to suicide to the rise of Indigenous language revitalization, all adjacent to the Salish Sea. Musically, Siyáadlan is a guitar-centered album highlighting new vocalists Sondra Segundo and Air Jazz alongside founding member Gene Tagaban. Beyond the funk grounding of Khu.éex's first four albums, music on this new album interweaves influences of Malian desert blues, Thom Bell arrangements, and cinematic imagery of David Lynch and Michael Mann with Haida and Tlingit hand drum songs.
Also, Heartstone Productions is putting the finishing touches of a documentary Khu.éex’: The Magic Of Noise which will be completed early next year and has been 12 years in the making.
This culmination of support and opportunity is amazing. With new directions, collaborations and with deep gratitude to my team at Preston Singletary Inc! Celine, Britt, Terri, Sean, Ross, Trumaine, Jeremy and new addition Lydia Singletary. I could not get as much done as I do without them all.
Wishing everyone a very Happy Holiday, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year. Looking forward to the next year where we will all most likely need support, vigilance, focus and perseverance.
Patience, Endurance, Courage and Alertness…
- Preston Singletary
