Teresa Lozano Long gifted this crystal sculpture to the Stark Center in the spring of 2017. Jan and Terry were visiting Teresa at her home in Austin when she decided that the piece should decorate the center’s reading room. In the piece, two glass figures pose together in a balletic lift. The sculpture focuses on the bodies and musculature required for such a feat, highlighting grace and strength in each dancer. The sculpture comes from Daum, a commercial crystal studio based in Nancy, France. At Daum, artists create crystal sculptures using the pâte de verre process where crushed glass is packed into a mold and then cast in a kiln. Colorants and enamels are often mixed in to apply different hues within a piece. Take for example the deep oceanic teal in the masculine figure’s torso and legs, the rose pink highlights in the triumphantly ascended feminine figure.