About EyeCandy

The EyeCandy web site was created to display one-of-a-kind objects in glass, wood, and mixed media. It also serves as the location where course material is kept for the various classes I have taught.

For those with an interest in reading biographical  information which discusses creative goals and impulses and guiding principles, then this information follows below.

Biographical Information

Presently my 'day job' is in the computer field as a database administrator. This has been  a rewarding career during which I used my free time to build a studio, learn glass and woodworking techniques. Most importantly earning an income outside of the arts has left me free define areas of concentration, explore, and create without being influenced by market pressures. The downside is that my progress slow and output is limited, but it is a tradeoff the I prefer.

My interest in glass started with stained glass projects. I quickly learned I would be unsatisfied in the level of control which could be achieved over the glass itself in this medium. The desire was for more detailed control of color gradations, texture, design freedom from the lead line, and something beyond two dimensions.

Kiln-formed glass was the next step I took. It gives more control over glass color, texture, and pattern. However, color gradations and design patterns in fine detail are limited as well as options in a third dimension. Bowls and other slumped forms could be done, but direct hands-on manipulation of three dimensional form is limited. Color mixing with various glass bits (frits) gives some control over color gradations, but the control of intricate and naturalistic looking detail (like stone agates for example) is hard to archive.

Hot glass artists (glassblowers) have a great control over form and can often achieve fine detail in color, but I did not enjoy the process.  Historically, glassblowers have concentrated on the hollow vessel form. This is standard fare for first year college course work as is a limited palete for beginners. Because I wanted to work with solid glass shapes and had strong tendencies towards mixed media and detailed color, I lost interest quickly.

Torch-worked glass (lampworking) I immediately enjoyed. It is a contemplative solitary process unlike hot glass which is often a team exercise. Not sure why it seems contemplative. Maybe it is the constant droning hiss of the torch; the allure of the flowing luminous molten gold glass; the extremely intricate control of color and form; or just the fact that you are staring into a single point of intense light for hours consumed within the creative process. Starting with beads as color studies I soon progressed to making marbles. Marbles in the 2-3 inch range are the proper scale for color studies for future work.

About Metal Marbles describes the central themes and goals for the glass work.

The ultimate goal was the integration of my glasswork with woodworking, specifically lathe-turned objects. Lathe-turned shapes will be used to both shape the glass as a mold, and as part of the final mixed media sculpture. I've been working towards this integration for the past fifteen years. This series is not compete and can be seen on the sculpture page of my main site.

Guiding Principle

Every attempt is made to keep creative efforts from becoming overly influenced by motivational factors, which can circumvent the effort itself. For example, if the goal is to impress by achieving a noted level of technical bravura in the work, then efforts are directed in a totally different direction than if the primary goal is achieve and maintain a sense of play. This is the main reason why becoming a professional crafts person or artist is not an objective at present. This again, would direct creative energy in a totally different direction. My observation has been that there are very few who can maintain a sense of creative freedom once they become professionals. Most struggle to achieve financial success, and even less seem satisfied by their creative achievements when their livelihood depends on what they produce.

Creative Goals

There is a deliberate avoidance of realism, social comment, emotional manipulation, or figurative references. The objects which are created simply satisfy an internalized aesthetic avoiding external references. An object is worked on in shape, form, color and texture using various techniques, yielding an image which in the end resonates with the internal impulses that form it. That is its only critique, self resonance, and in the best work that resonance withstands the test of time.

The search for randomization is a central driving impulse. Techniques are often chosen purely for their potential of not being entirely controllable, yet yield very interesting results in themselves. The primary example of this is the application of metal on molten glass, and the reduction-style torch worked which creates randomized detail and color on the glass surface. This can be seen in the Metal Marble series.

My wood sculpture technique is also an exercise in non-design, whereby multiple areas of the initial 'blank' form develop independently, and somehow in the end must find resolution as they join to form the whole they become. Recently, I've seen that sandblasting wood brings to the surface the random textural forms of the annual growth rings within wood. These too are only somewhat controllable, and their unpredictable nature will be ongoing experiment in future lathe-turned works.

Most of the time in the studio is spent looking for randomization techniques, playing with new forms in glass and on the wood lath, and gaining an overall technical competency. The finished work then is the integration of multiple techniques, media, and form being guided by an internalized aesthetic. This aesthetic places a premium on a creative experience which is not wholly controlled. A completed work is more highly prized when at the start there is no distinct object in mind, and when worked there is an increasing sense of resonance built into the object. There is no way to describe this sense of resonance succinctly.  As with many words there are multiple layers of meaning, and describing them can quickly sound trite or self absorbed.

The Studio

The images below are the glass section of my studio. The woodworking area is not that interesting. Everyone has seen a saw. It is always fun to look a other people's glass working area to see how they have it set up, how messy or neat they are, what tools they use, how big their fire extinguisher is :o}

Hope you enjoy the studio tour below and the rest of EyeCandy!