Working in his Sellwood district studio, Portland glass artist Lynn Read creates these luminous vases using the classic Murano glassmaking sommerso technique. Sommerso--literally “submerged” in Italian—is used to create contrasting layers of colored glass within a single object. Here, the effect is soft and refined, reflecting the fluid shapes of the vase forms: flattened versions of classic cylinder and teardrop shapes. A heavy sham base and thick sides grounds the piece and adds a satisfying heft. Each vase is handblown and signed by the artist. Due to the handmade nature of each vase, dimensions are approximate.