Pyros, move over – there is a purpose to this flamework. Ever wonder, though, why someone would work with fire for a living?
“Simply put, glass is an exciting medium – it’s hot, it’s dangerous, it’s immediate,” Eric Bailey, owner of e.b. glassworks in Corvallis, said.
Glass work, though, was not his initial artistic endeavor. Bailey worked with ceramics and later made the transition after accepting an apprenticeship with Skip Horton of Gazelle Glass in Philomath.
Stating that the decision between this paid gig versus pursuing an MFA was a “no brainer,” he found that the two mediums actually have much in common.
“The color chemistry is very similar, and both use fire and/or heat to create and manipulate the materials,” he said. “I am drawn to the immediate responsiveness of glass and ceramics. When you touch ceramics with your hands it immediately changes and when you touch glass with the flame and tools it also responds in a similar way.”
A year into the program, Bailey was designing and producing his own glass pieces using the classic lampworking or flameworking technique.
“One thing I find interesting about glass is that I am constantly learning new tricks and techniques to improve the quality and efficiency of making the piece,” Bailey said.
After working in Philomath for almost eight years, he built a studio in his backyard in the fall of 2008.
“Working as a solo artist has given me the freedom to explore my own creative direction,” he said.
That creative form stemmed from manipulating a traditional form. Taking a scent bottle, which is a centuries-old Italian form of lampworking, he altered the glass to make robots.
“I chose to make the robots functional,” Bailey said. “Plus I like the idea of the having removable and movable parts, so I could use the scent stopper on the scent bottle as part of that idea.”
He still makes more classic products such as globes and ornaments, but his robotic forms take up to five hours, whereas an ornament takes shape in 30 minutes.
Bailey’s hard work and innovation has not gone unnoticed in the art community.
“The reaction to the robots has been overwhelmingly positive, especially from higher-end galleries and fellow glass artists,” Bailey said. “I was honored when another well-known glassblower, Bandhu Dunham, asked if he could trade a piece of his work for one of my robots.”
But what does the future hold for Bailey’s art?
Answer: space. He’s working on rocketships that he hopes to make available later this year. Well, that and perhaps combining classic and the creative to fulfill requests for robot ornaments.
