Interview with the Glass Artist

Back in August of this year, my family and I went on a vacation to the northern midwest states of Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. While we were in Michigan, we decided to visit Kalamazoo, basically just to be able to say we’d been there. We found a brochure for this interesting place called West Michigan Glass Art Center and decided to check it out. We met this really nice guy, Jesse Baker, who gave us the grand tour of the Center and told us about the different types of glass art they create there. Today, I’m excited to host Jesse here at Writing to Inspire. He’s agreed to share a little bit about his favorite form of art and what it means to his community.

West Michigan Glass Art Center in downtown Kalamazoo.

Andrea: Welcome to Writing to Inspire, Jesse! I'm so happy you could join us today. Glass art is quite a unique art form. Was there a moment when you knew, "Now THAT'S what I want to do with my life!"? How did you get started in this particular art? Was there a particular person or event that inspired you, sparking your interest in working with glass?

  

Jesse: My introduction to the torch was a crash course in the form of an advanced lampworking class with Loren Stump. I would have to say it was that week, studying under Loren, watching his frenetic pace and the amazing things that he does with glass, when I knew this was something I wanted to try and do. He showed me that working with glass and the infinite possibilities of creation are limited only by one’s imagination. The things you can do and create with glass are truly endless. 

Andrea: While browsing your website (www.wmglass.org), I learned that the West Michigan Glass Art Center, located in downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan, is a non-profit organization that teaches, creates and promotes glass art and artists. How did you get involved with the West Michigan Glass Art Center? How may the public get involved?

Triangle Paperweight

Jesse: I first became involved many years ago, taking a hotshop class with my sister. Though it wasn’t then that glass fully sank its teeth into me, I should’ve known then it would. Shortly after that I moved off the mainland for a couple of years, spending that time living and loving life in Maui. Soon after having returned to the mainland I received a job notice in my inbox from the West Michigan Glass Art Center about a studio manager job position open. I applied, got the job, and haven’t looked back since, increasingly embracing glass as my hobby, then art-form, now, arguably, as my addiction. Glass is indeed addictive, if you like it, it’s likely you’re gonna LOVE it! We are a public access organization, focused on teaching the community glass art in all its forms, offering classes for the beginner looking to try making beads for the first time, to the advanced glassblower looking to hone their particular skills in the hotshop.

Andrea: When my family visited the Glass Art Center, you explained to us that there are many different types of glass art, including: glassblowing, kiln casting, cold working, flameworking, stained glass, bead making and kiln fusing. Which type is your favorite to work with? Which is your favorite to teach?

Jesse: Same answer to both of those questions, Hotshop, Hotshop, and Hotshop. I’d work in the Hotshop every day if I could afford to. And though I truly enjoy teaching classes in other studios, the hotshop is where I would prefer to teach as well. 

Andrea Cox and Jesse Baker in the glass art gift shop

Andrea: West Michigan Glass Art Center (WMGAC) has partnered with Bronson Children's Hospital in a program called Journey Beads. Can you tell us a little about this program and how it inspires children who are battling cancer? How has this program affected you and the art you create?

Jesse: The Bronson Journey Beads program is a new collaboration this year between WMGAC and the Bronson Children’s Hospital, providing beads for kids at the hospital who are going through treatment for cancer. Different styled and colored beads are made by local glass artists for various treatments that the kids are enduring. All of us here at the Art Center are taking a lot of pride in the work we’re doing in support of this program, volunteers having donated nearly 800 hours, creating and delivering about 3500 beads to the hospital thus far. The beads act as both a tangible reminder of the steps in the treatment the kids are going through, as well as a tool for telling the story of all that which they are enduring during the process. 

Andrea: How many years have you been creating glass art? How long does it take to become a master at it?

Jesse: I’ve been playing with glass for about 3 ½ years now and am far from considering myself a master of any aspect of it. Although I think the answer to your second question may vary greatly depending upon the individual and the time and resources that individual has to devote to glass. It’s my belief that it takes a lifetime to earn that title, as a master, or maestro in the glass world. 

Andrea: Of the pieces of glass art you create, what are some of your favorites?

  

Coral Reef Sculpture

Jesse: Aquatics are what I have been drawn to increasingly over the past few years. My favorites would be some of my most recent pieces I’ve produced. A beautiful jellyfish paperweight, a coral reef sculpture and my jellyfish pendants which continue to get better with each made.

Jellyfish Paperweight

Jellyfish Pendants

Andrea: Has a piece of art you were working on ever broken? How do you overcome the disappointment when that happens?

Jesse: Ahh, broken glass, the part you often don’t want to talk about, at least for quite some time after it happens. I have, indeed, had many pieces come crashing to the floor (or table), both hurt equally. When it comes to glass you just have to accept that as a part of the game. I once worked on a very ambitious roll-up project in the hotshop, putting about 30 hours in to the prep, layout and design portion, then a couple of hours of production time in the hotshop with two assistants only to have the piece crack at the very last second, as the piece was being put away in the kiln. Bitter disappointment doesn’t quite sum up the feeling I had at the end of that process. But, much the same as life, what are you gonna do, give up? You pick up the pieces, learn from your mistakes and try to do it better the next time!

Andrea: What events or classes does the Glass Art Center host around Christmas? Anything that children may participate in?

  

Blue Christmas Ornaments

Jesse: Twice a year, in May and November we offer EGAD, or Explore Glass Art Day, offering students as young as seven the opportunity to come in and take a taster course in any or all of our studios here at the Glass Art Center. Being a non-profit, this is held as a fundraiser for the Art Center and a great opportunity for the community to get their hands on glass at a very affordable price. All of our instructors volunteer their time on those special EGAD days, helping to make the courses more affordable for those who would like to try glass as an art form. We also offer ornament making sessions, sold on Groupon just before the holidays, which is always a hot ticket. Last year we had over 600 people come through our hotshop, teaching them how to make their very own ornament to place on their tree or give away as a very special gift to a loved one. 

Pink Christmas Ornaments

Andrea: How may my readers and I help support you and the West Michigan Glass Art Center, to help keep this art form around for future generations?

Jesse: There are many ways individuals can help support both the West Michigan Glass Art Center and glass art as a whole. I think your article, enlightening others who may not know anything about glass is a great way to help, increasing the glass world’s exposure. As far as supporting our mission here at WMGAC, being a non-profit, any cash donations given to the Art Center are tax deductible. To make a donation to WMGAC, follow the link, http://www.wmglass.org/Support/Donate.aspx

Another way to support us, indirectly, is to support the Bronson Journey Beads program, either by getting involved in the program or by making a donation to the program. Donations towards the Bronson Journey Beads program can be made at the Bronson Health Foundation’s website, found here: https://www.kintera.org/site/c.6nJKJQPnEgKUE/b.8682073/k.C0DC/Donate/apps/ka/sd/donor.asp?c=6nJKJQPnEgKUE&b=8682073&en=lmJRL7OWJmJVI6OSJkIWJ7OTInLbIqNZIcJTJaPUKoK8KgO1IAK

Andrea: What is something you've learned from working with glass that can be applied to other aspects of life?

Glass Tree

Jesse: Sometimes other aspects of life only need just a little more, or, a little less heat applied to get it to the right, working temperature.

Andrea: What advice would you give to someone who is trying to pursue the dreams and goals they're passionate about?

Jesse: When we dream, generally, we dream BIG! Don’t give up! They wouldn’t be dreams if they were easily attainable!

Andrea: Jesse, thank you so much for your generous time and sharing your experiences with the West Michigan Glass Art Center.

Readers, when have you tried something new? Did you enjoy it or find that it wasn’t for you? Have you ever made your own Christmas tree ornaments?

The next time you find yourself in Kalamazoo, Michigan, stop by the West Michigan Glass Art Center. They’ve got a neat shop where you can purchase pieces of glass art created by local artists. You won’t want to miss it!

Summing Up Summer

My friend Amanda, sister Kristy,
and parents (not pictured)
helped me celebrate my birthday.

August is my one full month off from my job as a tutor of children grades five through eight. It’s the month I celebrate the day I was born (by eating at Cheddar's, of course), and it’s also the month in which my family typically tries to go on vacation.

This year was no different. My parents, sister and I packed up our Tahoe and headed down the road. Up the road, technically, since our destination was north of our home state of Texas.

Where were we headed? Indiana and Michigan.

My challenge? Not getting distracted by the landscape whizzing by my window.

Yes, that’s right. I brought my laptop. I gladly sacrificed some of my landscape-watching, book-reading, z-z-z-z-catching time in order to get a good jump on the edits necessary to make my manuscript shine. That task proved quite daunting, but I steadily made progress on my work in progress (WIP). No, I didn’t get it completed. Even though I didn’t meet my goal 100%, I couldn’t be too disappointed in myself. I could have taken the entire month off, claiming it as family time, which would have been true on all accounts. But I chose to use the many hours in the car to my advantage.

Did I have fun on this trip, or was it just a working vacation for me? Oh, I had fun. Lots of fun.

The reason my family chose to visit Indiana was to spend some time with my dad’s aunts, uncles and cousins. My two great-aunts we met last summer, and of course we wanted to make more memories with them. This year, though, we also planned on meeting my second-cousin and another uncle and his wife. Since the cousin’s brother was in town, we got the bonus treat of meeting his family, including his granddaughter. When puzzling it out, I realized that she was my fourth-cousin. That meant we had four generations—from my great-aunt to my fourth-cousin—at Golden Corral that day! How neat is that? It was so wonderful to share a meal and fellowship with these relatives I’ve only known for one year. Hopefully we’ll get another chance to gather again soon.

JoAnn Durgin

Since we were going to Indiana, I asked my parents if we could stop by and meet author JoAnn Durgin on the way. JoAnn was one of four authors who critiqued my manuscript proposal in order to help me improve it. I really appreciated the tips she gave me and wanted to thank her in person and get to know her even better than I already had on Facebook. Also, I was planning on taking the first book in her Lewis Legacy series, Awakening, along on the trip to read (when I wasn’t working on my MS). My parents agreed to take a route that would take us through her part of Indiana, so we met JoAnn at Cheddar’s, my favorite restaurant. Tasty food, great company and conversation about books . . . It couldn’t have been a better evening.

Vigo County Historical Society Museum

From there, we took a side trip to Vigo County. This portion of the trip was sweet because I actually got to go “on location” for the manuscript I took along to work on. I had the opportunity to visit the small town I had chosen as the hometown for my characters. Also, I got to stop by the Vigo County Historical Society Museum to see what information they had on the town I had chosen. Though the file on the tiny town wasn't very large, the information was wonderful. It confirmed to me that the town was a tight-knit community that cared about each other . . . just like in my story!

West Michigan Glass Art Center

Once we reached Michigan, we stayed in Kalamazoo, just so we could say we’ve been there. The next morning, we went downtown to this neat place called West Michigan Glass Art Center. When we told the man that greeted us we were from Texas, he offered to give us a tour of the place. The art of working with glass is quite impressive and takes so much patience and time to learn. From creating stained glass to bead making to flameworking to glassblowing, they do it all—and a little bit of everything in between. The thing that surprised me the most was the fact that they leave the huge furnace on 24/7 to keep it at the correct temperature for their art form. The only time it’s shut down is when it needs to be replaced every five or so years.

Besides visiting Kalamazoo, another of my family’s goals while in Michigan was to put our feet in Lake Michigan. (We had done the same in Lake Erie in the summer of 2012.) We accomplished this goal while making some new ones. There are numerous lighthouses along the lake, and we decided to see some of them. We enjoy taking pictures of them as they are typically very beautiful. We weren’t disappointed. The lighthouses we went to were gorgeous with breathtaking views of Lake Michigan from the grounds.

West Point Lighthouse

Two Harbors Light Station... now a B&B too!

At that point, we were barely a week into our two-week trip. We didn’t really have any further plans of things to see or do. My dad surprised us by suggesting we travel down the coast of Lake Michigan, into Wisconsin and up into Minnesota, stopping by Lake Superior before heading home through Iowa. That would give us three more states on our quest to see all 48 continental United States over the years, leaving fewer than 10 states to accomplish that goal.

In Wisconsin and Minnesota, we saw a few more lighthouses, including Split Rock which was such an amazing sight from the lookout point up the road. While we were putting our feet in Lake Superior, a ginormous freighter left the port. I didn’t realize just how humongous those things really were until I saw this one up close. Talk about daunting!

Split Rock Lighthouse

Wisconsin Point Lighthouse

My sister Kristy and friend Jessica
Yes, that's a bear in the background.
We were at the Tulsa Zoo.

The last day of our trek, we stopped in Oklahoma to visit a dear friend whom we met at the beginning of summer. Her car had broken down on the way home from college, so my family had taken her home to Houston—six hours away from our hometown. We stayed in touch over the next couple of months, and my family decided that hanging out with her for a day would be a great way to end our vacation.

All along the trip, we met great people who each had a story to tell. Oh, the books I could write with such inspiration! At most, if not all, of the hotels we stayed at, the staff were friendly and ready to help their clients. At restaurants, the waitresses were often overworked but still managed to wear broad smiles across their faces. Some of the people I met were having bad days, so I smiled and greeted them warmly, hoping to add a little sparkle in the midst of their stressful moments. To many of these people, I gave a bookmark of one of my favorite authors, along with my own blog information. If you are one of them, thank you for your kindness and friendly smile. Thank you for visiting my website. I am thrilled you’re here! Please leave me a comment or friend me on Facebook or Twitter.

This summer’s vacation was amazing. I’m so grateful for every experience and each person who crossed my family’s path. Many more people and things and experiences than I could possibly mention made the trip one never to forget. My family and I had a memorable, enjoyable time. And I even made progress on my WIP!

What helped make your summer special? Was it the people around you? A family vacation? What will you remember most about Summer 2013?

Breathing Life With Words - by guest Reba J. Hoffman

On numerous blogs lately, I've been following Reba J. Hoffman's journey across country on her bicycle and have been touched by all the ways God is using her to help women break free from the fears that bind them. She has graciously agreed to share a piece of her story with us here on Writing to Inspire today. Thanks, Reba!

Loading the gear--all 50 pounds of it!

I’ve written for as long as I can remember. I’ve spoken for as long as I have a voice. And I’ve ridden a bicycle for half a century. I never thought combining those three activities would change lives.

On July 13^th, I set off on a bicycle ride of sorts. I packed fifty pounds of gear onto it and set off in the direction of the west coast. God has commissioned me to travel around the country on my bicycle talking about women who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a result of a violent assault.

I never know where I’ll end up on any given day. I have no specific direction in mind, other than eventually the west coast. I pray and trust God to lead me to women (and now men) that I can encourage, minister to and help take steps to overcome the fear they face while in the clutches of PTSD.

Not a day has gone by that I have not met women who live in fear. Through tears they tell me their stories. I validate them. I also tell them that, no matter what they have been led to believe, they really are women of incredible value and worth.

One such woman had not been out of her home in seventeen years. She never left the four walls of her house after being attacked. When her cousin told her I was in town and what I was doing, she asked, “Why in the world would she do something like that?”

Her cousin simply said, “She’s doing it for you!”

Reba shaking hands with Steve Beavers,
a reporter for the Daily Corinthian newspaper

On wobbly legs, this prisoner of fear in her own home ventured out. She allowed her cousin to bring her to the town square where I was waiting. As she slowly made her way toward me, I stood with outstretched arms. I knew I could not go to her. She had to come to me.

When she finally closed the distance, she fell into my arms and sobbed for what seemed like years. She was purging herself of all the anguish. I then took her by the hand and said, “Let’s take a victory lap.”

Arm in arm she and I made our way around the town square. One by one, women joined us. We walked and cried in unity for the huge step this woman took in coming out of her safe haven.

I felt the strength returning to her frail body with each step we took. Finally, she turned to me and said, “Your words breathed life back into me.”

When the victory lap had been completed and women slowly began to walk away and back to their own lives, I was reminded of how powerful our words are. The spoken word. The written word. They all have the power of life and death in them.

I’m so grateful to have the privilege of riding my bicycle across country alone to help these women take back their life. Each day I see lives transform right in front of me. Women who had been held prisoner in their own homes after surviving a violent attack finally let go of the fear and move forward in life.

Dakota (my bike) and I are on a mission to set women free. We are not in a dress rehearsal. This is our one shot at life as we know it. I don’t want a single woman who survived being attacked to get to the end of their life, look back and realize they only existed through the life they should have abundantly lived through.

There really is life beyond survival. Through words of encouragement and healing, it breathes the breath of life back into someone. I urge you to join the life-saving mission. Help a woman overcome by speaking life into them. Tell them about my story and encourage them to follow my journey… the Road to Freedom Tour.

Reba J. Hoffman is the author of Facing Fear and Finding Freedom. She is currently on a solo cross-country bicycle tour to help women who suffer from PTSD. You can follow her epic journey at www.RebaJHoffman.com. 

What fear have YOU faced lately? How have you felt God's freedom since facing it?