I Say Something About Her Every Time I Speak | Nora Gast
Horizon Gallery
Nora Gast creates a moment of reflection amid great change in her experimental glass and mixed-media installation, I Say Something About Her Every Time I Speak. Incorporating nostalgia, memory, and identity in relation to domestic objects, the exhibition investigates the importance of keepsakes, including her father’s socks and her old backyard swing set. She recreates these objects to connect her to younger versions of herself, nested in the present. Gast states, “In times of uncertainty, objects around us provide comfort, allow us to access memories, and are a reminder of who we are”.
BIO
Nora Gast is a sculptural glass artist currently based in Northeast Ohio. Her work is composed of domestic and sentimental objects recreated through various glass working processes. Reminiscent of her life growing up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, she is known for her use of bright colors and delicate shapes that offer softness to a robust medium. Gast has a fondness for niche glass-casting techniques and unexpected intersections of material. She transforms glass into new, contradictory forms such as clothing, ribbons, and crochet fabric. Originally a watercolor painter, she gravitated towards glass in her undergraduate studies as a multi-dimensional study of light and transparency. She received her Bachelor of Fine Art from Kent State University, graduating with a concentration in glass working. She continues to expand her expertise with the material and has participated in several juried shows across the Midwest.
STATEMENT
I Say Something About Her Every Time I Speak creates a moment of reflection in the face of great change. This installation holds nostalgia, memory, and identity together in relation to domestic objects. Objects, kept and collected over time, that I hold close as I move through life, reflect who I am and adorn the spaces I inhabit in my utmost privacy. This collection of work highlights the importance of these keepsakes and thanks them. It is an open door to what has been passed down; the socks my father left behind, the backyard swing set lost to time, and the plastic stars on the ceiling of my bedroom.
Expressing gratitude for what is outgrown confronts the loss of childhood, a grief that is inevitable as we move from adolescence towards adulthood. In times of uncertainty, the objects around us provide comfort, allow us to access memories, and are a reminder of who we are. Recreating these objects connects me to younger versions of myself, nested in my present being. Bright colors and familiar forms give a sense of nostalgia and sentimentality. These objects are contextualized to represent how they exist in my memory. Here I find a path forward, without the need to knock on wood.
I say something about her every time I speak.
Did you know?
Most of the artwork on display at Summit Artspace is for sale.
Click on the artwork images for pricing and more information about each piece.
If you would like to purchase any art, please visit a staff member or volunteer at the front desk, or email anna@summitartspace.org.
Special thanks to Bradley Hart, Summit Artspace resident artist, for photography of virtual exhibitions!
1- So wool won’t shrink | $7,670
Casted glass, borosilicate glass, hardwood clothespins, 2024
2- She’ll be glad I’m home, she’s always casting spells for me | NFS
Osage orange wood, blown glass, sheet glass, white silk, 2024
3- Beneath the Osage, in memoriam | $6,500
Osage orange wood, blown glass, light, 2024
4- Before I was anyone, I knew how to fly | $10,260
Borosilicate glass, sheet glass, 2025
5- I used to be afraid of the dark | $6,780
Blown glass, light, 2025
6- She wraps me in dreams | $12,500
Freeze fused glass, enamel, cotton, wool, 2026
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