Flame Run has featured the whimsical, fantastical art of mixed-media sculptor Michael Amis in a solo show that opened Aug. 1 and ran through Sept. 27. The artist’s blown glass pieces are building blocks for amalgamations that include carpet, fake fur, roofing tile, doll hair and other unlikely items. Amis says his work is “as abstract as possible.” Some of his sculptures resemble tools and household cleaning utensils as well as what he calls “little critters.”

Flame Run has featured the whimsical, fantastical art of mixed-media sculptor Michael Amis in a solo show that opened Aug. 1 and ran through Sept. 27.

The artist’s blown glass pieces are building blocks for amalgamations that include carpet, fake fur, roofing tile, doll hair and other unlikely items. Amis says his work is “as abstract as possible.” Some of his sculptures resemble tools and household cleaning utensils as well as what he calls “little critters.”

Amis said he never really knows what his sculptures will look like until he’s finished assembling them. He’s even been known to assemble pieces while he’s at a gallery setting up a show.

Flame Run Gallery Manager Tiffany Ackerman said the art is a new frontier for Flame Run, unlike anything the gallery has exhibited before. “It is mixed media in its truest form,” she said. “You don’t expect carpet to be part of glass sculptures. He has these very unexpected touches.”

Born in Kent, England, Amis was headed for a career as an industrial designer when he earned a diploma in Product Design from Kent Institute of Art and Design. He switched to glass, receiving an MFA at Illinois State University in 1998. He opened his own studio in Bloomington, Ill. in October 2007 where he creates functional designs in addition to his mixed-media sculpture.