Our newest interview is with Drew Fritts, the featured artist at this year's Wheaton Village Marble Weekend. I know everyone has seen Drew's fabulous
marbles and probably has been fascinated by his technical percision. I hope everyone enjoys reading Drew's interview as much as I did and plan on watching
his presentation at Wheaton in June. Please feel free to ask any follow-up questions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Drew, could you please tell us a little about yourself?
I grew up in Alaska. My father was a field geologist working to map the Brooks Range for the State of Alaska. We (he and I and his field assistant) would spend each summer hiking and paddling around the northern-most mountain range in North America collecting rock samples. It was an absolutely amazing and unique way to grow up. We would fly in via floatplane with a canoe strapped to the struts. They would drop us off on a lake with nothing but the canoe, a tent, sleeping bags, fishing poles, a few clothes and a few canned goods - oh yea, and a rifle. We would spend a month climbing the mountains all the way around that lake, and then the floatplane would come pick us up and take us to the next lake where we'd repeat the process. I was so spoiled by that experience that I didn't hunt or fish for many years after I moved to the lower 48 - there just wasn't any point! And, to this day, I still don't understand the concept of "camping" if it involves a trailer or an RV. Oh well…
I met my wife, Kathy, in Dallas where I was working as a telecommunications consultant, and we were married in 1985. Kathy, also a computer consultant, was transferred to Calgary, Alberta Canada in 1986, so we moved there. We had two kids while living there, Melissa and Thomas, who are both dual citizens. They're also both valedictorians of their high school classes. It must have been something in the water… We moved to Springfield, Missouri in 1989 where I became the manager of telecommunications for Bass Pro Shops. It was during that time that I started playing with glass as a hobby, and it finally became a full-time occupation in late 1998.
2. How did you first start working with glass?
Badly? Seriously, I live in the middle of the country and there wasn't anyone close to me to teach me. I started out in 1994 and soon got Lewis Wilson's first bead video. That's it! I worked on a plumber's torch for several years (yes, the kind you get at a hardware store with the screw-on propane cylinders). Often, after dinner, I would go downstairs and play with the glass as a stress relief. I moved from beads to small marbles because my wife and daughter quickly had all the beads they could use. I also think it was the challenge that made marbles interesting to me. At first I was happy just to figure out how to get them round and for them not to crack while cooling in the crock-pot of vermiculite I used to cool beads. At the time, I knew nothing about proper annealing, and it never even occurred to me that there were other marble makers with whom I could talk and compare information. Finally, in May of 1998, there was a marble show here in Springfield.
My kids and I went with pockets full of my marbles, and when we walked in I was stunned. I actually got to see someone else making marbles! Jerry Park was sitting there with a little tabletop annealer and his Minor Burner and he was actually making marbles -- in the show! This was the first real torch and the first annealer I had ever seen in person. That show was an eye-opener in another respect, too. It had never occurred to me that people actually "collect" marbles! Fortunately, the response to my marbles was better than I ever could have imagined. I went home and bought a new torch and an annealer and then put up a web page and started selling my marbles. In November of 1998 I quit my job at Bass Pro Shops and haven't looked back.
3. What made you decide to write a book about making marbles?
The book was a result of my desire to help people - to keep them from having to go through the years of trial and error that I went through. I decided that God had blessed me with the talent to write, as well as the talent and perseverance to figure out how to make marbles, so I should combine those talents and help others learn. My goal was literally to get the information out there and hopefully "break even" doing it. And, I'm happy to report that, although the book isn't a huge seller, I've recovered my publishing costs and then some. So, I consider it a huge success!
4. Was it difficult to organize the process of marble making into written form?
The book took over two years to write because I did it all in my spare time. I didn't consider it difficult, just time consuming and tedious. When you're writing instructions you have to re-read things a lot of times to see how many different ways something can be interpreted. In technical writing you have to be very specific about every step, and it's easy to forget to include things that you take for granted because you've been doing it for so long. Checking what you've written takes WAY longer than actually writing it.
5. Do you think it's possible for someone to learn to make a simple marble from a book or is some amount of personal training mandatory?
Well, I sure hope so! Actually, I know it's possible because I've had numerous people write and tell me so. I've actually asked people to send me images of their marbles because I was curious about how successful the process was. Now, don't get me wrong. I believe that nothing is as good as personal training if you can get it. But, to get started and make simple marbles, yes, it's very achievable from my book.
6. Would you ever considered writing another book?
The short answer is, "Yes." However, the boxes containing copies of the first book took up one whole stall in my garage for several years, and honestly, I'm not interested in parking outside for that long again. I've recently looked into on-demand publishing, so that I wouldn't have to store the inventory, but it's not looking promising. I've also thought about changing the format for the next volume - maybe producing a series of short articles that can go in a notebook, or maybe even producing it as an E-book. I've even thought about doing some videos, but nothing is actually planned right now.
7. When someone on 'Glass Addiction' or 'The Melting Pot' has a technical question about glass art, you usually have an accurate and easy to understand answer. How important are the technical aspects to you?
Well, I think the primary reason for my technical comments is for accuracy. To help someone learn it's necessary for them to have the correct information. I usually get drawn into two types of threads: those in which someone has expressed a real interest in knowing something, and for some reason I think I can contribute; or, those in which some information or opinion has been given that, from my own experience, I question. My concern is that with inaccurate or incomplete information a person reading the thread may go off and spin their wheels, spend unnecessary money, or just run into a roadblock that I can help them avoid. So, yes, I'd say that accuracy and technical information are very important to me in that respect.
8. Is this information that you've simply retained or do you enjoy studying the art's technical side?
I do some research, but not a lot. Most of what I'm willing to share has come from my own experience.
9. Have you ever taught glass making or would you consider it?
I used to give lessons in my studio and I've taught twice at The Studio of the Corning Museum of Glass. It's interesting the things you learn about yourself when you try to teach others. Unfortunately, although I have great patience in most areas of my life, I've found that I really don't have the patience for teaching people who are still trying to master the basics. I'll do demonstrations for any level of glassworker. But now, when I teach classes, the students have to be fairly skilled already and just wanting to learn my styles and techniques. Otherwise, it ends up being a waste of time for everyone involved. That's not really what I wanted to find out about myself, but it's honest.
10. In making glass art, what mix of technical ability, inspiration and artistry is required to be successful?
Wow! What does it mean, "to be successful?" I'm blessed to be able to do something that I enjoy immensely and that many people appreciate. I also have the added benefit that it provides enough income to pay some of the bills and put some food on the table. So, by those measures I guess I'm successful.
With that in mind, then, I think that technical ability is necessary, just as in any of the arts, but it's simply a tool. Command of your medium is essential before you can have the freedom to create intentionally. By that I mean that if I obtain an effect that was actually the result of my inability to control my medium, then it occurred through happenstance, not creativity. On the other hand, if I do that same thing with the glass, because I know that it will produce a desired effect - even though that effect may be random or inconsistent - I am being creative. This, to me, is a fine distinction, but is the difference between creating intentionally and simply playing with the glass. As a result, with enough practice, anyone can achieve the ability to be creative.
However, I think that there is way more to being "successful" (in terms of putting food on the table) than simply being creative. Knowledge of your market and your customers' desires, your ability to relate to people and to be honest and truthful in everything you do, have as much to do with your "success" as your technical or artistic abilities.
11. Do you feel all artists should pass along information to younger artists? Should all artists strive to improve the art form during their tenure?
Yes, I think that passing along information to younger artists has been done for hundreds, if not thousands of years. That was the whole basis of the apprenticeship system. I contend that we learn in only two ways: our own experience, and other peoples' experience - whether directly or from books or videos. One could argue that "reason" comes into play, but reason is always based on knowledge attained from someone's prior experience. So, since we don't have time to have all the experiences ourselves, we absolutely need to learn from others.
As for improving the art form, I like these quotes from the preface to Rob Bell's book "Velvet Elvis." He's making a metaphor about the Christian faith, but for this discussion, the quotes work as they're written:
"… we say this because we instinctively understand that art has to, in some way, keep going. Keep exploring, keep arranging, keep shaping and forming and bringing in new perspectives. …For others, the painting works for their parents, or it provided meaning when they were growing up, but it is no longer relevant. It doesn't fit. It's outdated. It doesn't have anything to say to the world they live in every day. It's not that there isn't any truth in it or that all the people before them were misguided or missed the point. It's just that every generation has to ask the difficult questions of what it means to be [an artist] here and now, in this place, at this time. …The tradition then is painting, not making copies of the same painting over and over. The challenge of the art is to take what was great about the previous paintings and incorporate that into new paintings."
12. Do you have any techniques that you've developed that you would not want to share with others artists?
I've typically demonstrated or taught any technique at which I feel competent. Occasionally I'll wait for a while so that I can establish it in my own work first. But, eventually I'll show or discuss it. Again, it's not the technique that's important; it's what you do with it.
13. Seeing that glass making has been around for thousands of years, is it really possible for artists to create new techniques or are they revising existing ones?
Well, this is the age-old debate about whether or not there is anything "new" in glass - or in anything for that matter (re: Barenaked Ladies - It's All Been Done). I personally agree with the premise that most things have been done before in some fashion. It may not have been the exact way we do it now, but the principle or the effect of the technique is the same. Even though we have equipment and innovations now that have never been available in the history of glass, I'd have to say that it would be on a very rare occasion that we actually do something (that we'd want to repeat) that has never been done. The difference comes in how the techniques are combined, resulting in something that is intentionally creative and fresh. That, I believe, we can still do.
14. I understand that you are the featured artist at the Wheaton Marble Weekend. What does it feel like to be chosen?
I'm very honored, and at the same time, very humbled.
15. Can you give us any hints as to what you might be covering in your demo?
I'm not sure yet because we don't have all of the equipment details worked out. The biggest problem I run into when I go to teach or demo at another location is that the equipment isn't compatible with my style of work. I use a combination of furnace techniques and torchwork techniques. I use a torch for my heat source rather than a glory hole, which is what most furnace workers use. That in itself isn't a problem because I can always set up a torch. However, I use a furnace for my clear gathers. Many locations have a furnace, but, the clear glass they use is typically incompatible with either my colored glass (different COE), or with the torch as a heat source (the torch makes their clear glass boil because it isn't formulated to be put directly into a flame). Also, the crucible furnace I work from has the lid on the top, rather than the side. Therefore, when I gather from the furnace, I go in and out of the glass vertically. In a traditional side-open furnace the glass has to be "rolled" onto the gather. This difference presents significant problems to my style of work.
So, to answer your question, I hope to show how I actually work. However, if a crucible furnace isn't available I'll have to show pictures or video of the furnace portions of my work.
16. Of all the styles of marbles that you've made, which one is your favorite?
That's like asking me to pick which is my favorite child! I'm not sure I could pick a favorite marble style. Usually, what I'm making currently is representative of what I'm enjoying making at that time. Right now I'm having a lot of fun exploring the possibilities of my new "Controlled Chaos" style. I've also just started using dichroic glass again after avoiding it for about 4 years.
17. Do you enjoy watching other artists make glass art?
Absolutely! I'm always looking to expand my "experience" base. By watching others work I can sometimes pick up on little refinements that I can incorporate into my own techniques.
18. When you do observe other artists, do you find yourself comparing their technique and style to your own or do you just sit back and enjoy?
For me, the process of analyzing what they're doing and why they're doing it IS the enjoyment. I can't imagine watching a demo and being disengaged. I think the only reason artists watch other artists is to learn from the experience. And, I think the reason collectors watch artists it to gain a better understanding and appreciation of the art form.
19. Approximately how many marbles do you make in an average month?
Not very many. I'm not a fast marble maker, and I work alone, so my output is extremely low. My method is to be very precise and methodical in each step of making the marble, and by doing that I feel that I can control the outcome better. I also take copious notes so that I can remember later what I did to achieve that particular size, or effect, or style. I take my time and I really enjoy what I do.
I love variety, and the idea of "production work" really turns me off. I rarely make more than 1 or 2 of the same style in the same day, and I'm constantly thinking about how I can change up, augment, or improve the one that I just made. That's why the majority of the work I sell is signed "EXP" for experimental. It truly is a constant experiment for me to work with glass. I'm always learning, always figuring out new things (new to me, anyway) and trying to incorporate them into the next marble.
Although I have a furnace, I usually make only one marble at a time. There are a very limited number of styles that I make that lend themselves to making a cane for the core and optimizing my time in that way. For those I'll make a core cane, cut it into sections, and put them in the annealer. Then, I'll pull each section out, add the outer design and finish the marble. Unfortunately, most of what I make doesn't allow that kind of production efficiency. Most of my work involves core designs that can't be cut, or multiple punty changes to switch the axis, and cane-style work just isn't an option. I realize that I sacrifice efficiency in the process (by having to do the same set-up work for every marble rather than doing it once for 2-4 marbles with a cane), but that's a burden that I'm willing to tolerate to achieve the results that I'm looking for.
20. What is your favorite family activity?
We enjoy boating and fishing when the weather is nice. When it's not we like playing a card game called Skip-Bo or watching movies together. Unfortunately, my daughter has been away at university for several years and my son will be leaving for university next year, so our "family" activities are soon going to be getting back to just "couple" activities. Fortunately, the same activities work for couples!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please join me in thanking Drew for taking time out of his schedule to answer my questions. If you'd like to see more of his art or check out his book and marble molds, stop by his website. Also be sure to check out the information about Drew at the Wheaton Village website.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Drew, could you please tell us a little about yourself?
I grew up in Alaska. My father was a field geologist working to map the Brooks Range for the State of Alaska. We (he and I and his field assistant) would spend each summer hiking and paddling around the northern-most mountain range in North America collecting rock samples. It was an absolutely amazing and unique way to grow up. We would fly in via floatplane with a canoe strapped to the struts. They would drop us off on a lake with nothing but the canoe, a tent, sleeping bags, fishing poles, a few clothes and a few canned goods - oh yea, and a rifle. We would spend a month climbing the mountains all the way around that lake, and then the floatplane would come pick us up and take us to the next lake where we'd repeat the process. I was so spoiled by that experience that I didn't hunt or fish for many years after I moved to the lower 48 - there just wasn't any point! And, to this day, I still don't understand the concept of "camping" if it involves a trailer or an RV. Oh well…
I met my wife, Kathy, in Dallas where I was working as a telecommunications consultant, and we were married in 1985. Kathy, also a computer consultant, was transferred to Calgary, Alberta Canada in 1986, so we moved there. We had two kids while living there, Melissa and Thomas, who are both dual citizens. They're also both valedictorians of their high school classes. It must have been something in the water… We moved to Springfield, Missouri in 1989 where I became the manager of telecommunications for Bass Pro Shops. It was during that time that I started playing with glass as a hobby, and it finally became a full-time occupation in late 1998.
2. How did you first start working with glass?
Badly? Seriously, I live in the middle of the country and there wasn't anyone close to me to teach me. I started out in 1994 and soon got Lewis Wilson's first bead video. That's it! I worked on a plumber's torch for several years (yes, the kind you get at a hardware store with the screw-on propane cylinders). Often, after dinner, I would go downstairs and play with the glass as a stress relief. I moved from beads to small marbles because my wife and daughter quickly had all the beads they could use. I also think it was the challenge that made marbles interesting to me. At first I was happy just to figure out how to get them round and for them not to crack while cooling in the crock-pot of vermiculite I used to cool beads. At the time, I knew nothing about proper annealing, and it never even occurred to me that there were other marble makers with whom I could talk and compare information. Finally, in May of 1998, there was a marble show here in Springfield.
My kids and I went with pockets full of my marbles, and when we walked in I was stunned. I actually got to see someone else making marbles! Jerry Park was sitting there with a little tabletop annealer and his Minor Burner and he was actually making marbles -- in the show! This was the first real torch and the first annealer I had ever seen in person. That show was an eye-opener in another respect, too. It had never occurred to me that people actually "collect" marbles! Fortunately, the response to my marbles was better than I ever could have imagined. I went home and bought a new torch and an annealer and then put up a web page and started selling my marbles. In November of 1998 I quit my job at Bass Pro Shops and haven't looked back.
3. What made you decide to write a book about making marbles?
The book was a result of my desire to help people - to keep them from having to go through the years of trial and error that I went through. I decided that God had blessed me with the talent to write, as well as the talent and perseverance to figure out how to make marbles, so I should combine those talents and help others learn. My goal was literally to get the information out there and hopefully "break even" doing it. And, I'm happy to report that, although the book isn't a huge seller, I've recovered my publishing costs and then some. So, I consider it a huge success!
4. Was it difficult to organize the process of marble making into written form?
The book took over two years to write because I did it all in my spare time. I didn't consider it difficult, just time consuming and tedious. When you're writing instructions you have to re-read things a lot of times to see how many different ways something can be interpreted. In technical writing you have to be very specific about every step, and it's easy to forget to include things that you take for granted because you've been doing it for so long. Checking what you've written takes WAY longer than actually writing it.
5. Do you think it's possible for someone to learn to make a simple marble from a book or is some amount of personal training mandatory?
Well, I sure hope so! Actually, I know it's possible because I've had numerous people write and tell me so. I've actually asked people to send me images of their marbles because I was curious about how successful the process was. Now, don't get me wrong. I believe that nothing is as good as personal training if you can get it. But, to get started and make simple marbles, yes, it's very achievable from my book.
6. Would you ever considered writing another book?
The short answer is, "Yes." However, the boxes containing copies of the first book took up one whole stall in my garage for several years, and honestly, I'm not interested in parking outside for that long again. I've recently looked into on-demand publishing, so that I wouldn't have to store the inventory, but it's not looking promising. I've also thought about changing the format for the next volume - maybe producing a series of short articles that can go in a notebook, or maybe even producing it as an E-book. I've even thought about doing some videos, but nothing is actually planned right now.
7. When someone on 'Glass Addiction' or 'The Melting Pot' has a technical question about glass art, you usually have an accurate and easy to understand answer. How important are the technical aspects to you?
Well, I think the primary reason for my technical comments is for accuracy. To help someone learn it's necessary for them to have the correct information. I usually get drawn into two types of threads: those in which someone has expressed a real interest in knowing something, and for some reason I think I can contribute; or, those in which some information or opinion has been given that, from my own experience, I question. My concern is that with inaccurate or incomplete information a person reading the thread may go off and spin their wheels, spend unnecessary money, or just run into a roadblock that I can help them avoid. So, yes, I'd say that accuracy and technical information are very important to me in that respect.
8. Is this information that you've simply retained or do you enjoy studying the art's technical side?
I do some research, but not a lot. Most of what I'm willing to share has come from my own experience.
9. Have you ever taught glass making or would you consider it?
I used to give lessons in my studio and I've taught twice at The Studio of the Corning Museum of Glass. It's interesting the things you learn about yourself when you try to teach others. Unfortunately, although I have great patience in most areas of my life, I've found that I really don't have the patience for teaching people who are still trying to master the basics. I'll do demonstrations for any level of glassworker. But now, when I teach classes, the students have to be fairly skilled already and just wanting to learn my styles and techniques. Otherwise, it ends up being a waste of time for everyone involved. That's not really what I wanted to find out about myself, but it's honest.
10. In making glass art, what mix of technical ability, inspiration and artistry is required to be successful?
Wow! What does it mean, "to be successful?" I'm blessed to be able to do something that I enjoy immensely and that many people appreciate. I also have the added benefit that it provides enough income to pay some of the bills and put some food on the table. So, by those measures I guess I'm successful.
With that in mind, then, I think that technical ability is necessary, just as in any of the arts, but it's simply a tool. Command of your medium is essential before you can have the freedom to create intentionally. By that I mean that if I obtain an effect that was actually the result of my inability to control my medium, then it occurred through happenstance, not creativity. On the other hand, if I do that same thing with the glass, because I know that it will produce a desired effect - even though that effect may be random or inconsistent - I am being creative. This, to me, is a fine distinction, but is the difference between creating intentionally and simply playing with the glass. As a result, with enough practice, anyone can achieve the ability to be creative.
However, I think that there is way more to being "successful" (in terms of putting food on the table) than simply being creative. Knowledge of your market and your customers' desires, your ability to relate to people and to be honest and truthful in everything you do, have as much to do with your "success" as your technical or artistic abilities.
11. Do you feel all artists should pass along information to younger artists? Should all artists strive to improve the art form during their tenure?
Yes, I think that passing along information to younger artists has been done for hundreds, if not thousands of years. That was the whole basis of the apprenticeship system. I contend that we learn in only two ways: our own experience, and other peoples' experience - whether directly or from books or videos. One could argue that "reason" comes into play, but reason is always based on knowledge attained from someone's prior experience. So, since we don't have time to have all the experiences ourselves, we absolutely need to learn from others.
As for improving the art form, I like these quotes from the preface to Rob Bell's book "Velvet Elvis." He's making a metaphor about the Christian faith, but for this discussion, the quotes work as they're written:
"… we say this because we instinctively understand that art has to, in some way, keep going. Keep exploring, keep arranging, keep shaping and forming and bringing in new perspectives. …For others, the painting works for their parents, or it provided meaning when they were growing up, but it is no longer relevant. It doesn't fit. It's outdated. It doesn't have anything to say to the world they live in every day. It's not that there isn't any truth in it or that all the people before them were misguided or missed the point. It's just that every generation has to ask the difficult questions of what it means to be [an artist] here and now, in this place, at this time. …The tradition then is painting, not making copies of the same painting over and over. The challenge of the art is to take what was great about the previous paintings and incorporate that into new paintings."
12. Do you have any techniques that you've developed that you would not want to share with others artists?
I've typically demonstrated or taught any technique at which I feel competent. Occasionally I'll wait for a while so that I can establish it in my own work first. But, eventually I'll show or discuss it. Again, it's not the technique that's important; it's what you do with it.
13. Seeing that glass making has been around for thousands of years, is it really possible for artists to create new techniques or are they revising existing ones?
Well, this is the age-old debate about whether or not there is anything "new" in glass - or in anything for that matter (re: Barenaked Ladies - It's All Been Done). I personally agree with the premise that most things have been done before in some fashion. It may not have been the exact way we do it now, but the principle or the effect of the technique is the same. Even though we have equipment and innovations now that have never been available in the history of glass, I'd have to say that it would be on a very rare occasion that we actually do something (that we'd want to repeat) that has never been done. The difference comes in how the techniques are combined, resulting in something that is intentionally creative and fresh. That, I believe, we can still do.
14. I understand that you are the featured artist at the Wheaton Marble Weekend. What does it feel like to be chosen?
I'm very honored, and at the same time, very humbled.
15. Can you give us any hints as to what you might be covering in your demo?
I'm not sure yet because we don't have all of the equipment details worked out. The biggest problem I run into when I go to teach or demo at another location is that the equipment isn't compatible with my style of work. I use a combination of furnace techniques and torchwork techniques. I use a torch for my heat source rather than a glory hole, which is what most furnace workers use. That in itself isn't a problem because I can always set up a torch. However, I use a furnace for my clear gathers. Many locations have a furnace, but, the clear glass they use is typically incompatible with either my colored glass (different COE), or with the torch as a heat source (the torch makes their clear glass boil because it isn't formulated to be put directly into a flame). Also, the crucible furnace I work from has the lid on the top, rather than the side. Therefore, when I gather from the furnace, I go in and out of the glass vertically. In a traditional side-open furnace the glass has to be "rolled" onto the gather. This difference presents significant problems to my style of work.
So, to answer your question, I hope to show how I actually work. However, if a crucible furnace isn't available I'll have to show pictures or video of the furnace portions of my work.
16. Of all the styles of marbles that you've made, which one is your favorite?
That's like asking me to pick which is my favorite child! I'm not sure I could pick a favorite marble style. Usually, what I'm making currently is representative of what I'm enjoying making at that time. Right now I'm having a lot of fun exploring the possibilities of my new "Controlled Chaos" style. I've also just started using dichroic glass again after avoiding it for about 4 years.
17. Do you enjoy watching other artists make glass art?
Absolutely! I'm always looking to expand my "experience" base. By watching others work I can sometimes pick up on little refinements that I can incorporate into my own techniques.
18. When you do observe other artists, do you find yourself comparing their technique and style to your own or do you just sit back and enjoy?
For me, the process of analyzing what they're doing and why they're doing it IS the enjoyment. I can't imagine watching a demo and being disengaged. I think the only reason artists watch other artists is to learn from the experience. And, I think the reason collectors watch artists it to gain a better understanding and appreciation of the art form.
19. Approximately how many marbles do you make in an average month?
Not very many. I'm not a fast marble maker, and I work alone, so my output is extremely low. My method is to be very precise and methodical in each step of making the marble, and by doing that I feel that I can control the outcome better. I also take copious notes so that I can remember later what I did to achieve that particular size, or effect, or style. I take my time and I really enjoy what I do.
I love variety, and the idea of "production work" really turns me off. I rarely make more than 1 or 2 of the same style in the same day, and I'm constantly thinking about how I can change up, augment, or improve the one that I just made. That's why the majority of the work I sell is signed "EXP" for experimental. It truly is a constant experiment for me to work with glass. I'm always learning, always figuring out new things (new to me, anyway) and trying to incorporate them into the next marble.
Although I have a furnace, I usually make only one marble at a time. There are a very limited number of styles that I make that lend themselves to making a cane for the core and optimizing my time in that way. For those I'll make a core cane, cut it into sections, and put them in the annealer. Then, I'll pull each section out, add the outer design and finish the marble. Unfortunately, most of what I make doesn't allow that kind of production efficiency. Most of my work involves core designs that can't be cut, or multiple punty changes to switch the axis, and cane-style work just isn't an option. I realize that I sacrifice efficiency in the process (by having to do the same set-up work for every marble rather than doing it once for 2-4 marbles with a cane), but that's a burden that I'm willing to tolerate to achieve the results that I'm looking for.
20. What is your favorite family activity?
We enjoy boating and fishing when the weather is nice. When it's not we like playing a card game called Skip-Bo or watching movies together. Unfortunately, my daughter has been away at university for several years and my son will be leaving for university next year, so our "family" activities are soon going to be getting back to just "couple" activities. Fortunately, the same activities work for couples!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please join me in thanking Drew for taking time out of his schedule to answer my questions. If you'd like to see more of his art or check out his book and marble molds, stop by his website. Also be sure to check out the information about Drew at the Wheaton Village website.
