Copyright ©All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use
site designed by www.route51design.com
WWW.TEDDYGLASSWORKS.COM
WWW.TEDDYGLASSWORKS.COM
> KAATSKILL LIFE November 2003
Spinning Glass-
By Hertha Schulze
Photographs by Nina Lawford-
A flaming tattoo covers Ted Halstead’s right arm from his wrist to his shoulder. The pattern resembles the swirling colors on the glass he blows, but it also symbolizes the fact that his art revolves around heating and cooling. “I have my arm in fire all day,” he ways. “Some day I’ll ad ice on my other arm.”
Molten glass comes out of the glass furnace on the end of a blowpipe at a temperature of 1,700 degrees. It loses heat as he spins and blows to form the shape and it must be reheated at strategic moments during the process to keep it pliable. Jokingly, Halstead credits the delicate hand and eye coordination that this process requires to his early expertise at video games. “Blowing doesn’t take a lot of wind,” he adds, “but it takes a lot of strength. The glass must be spun constantly to keep it centered on the pipe and, at the end of a three-foot pipe, three-quarters of a pound is like thirty pounds.”
Molten glass comes out of the glass furnace on the end of a blowpipe at a temperature of 1,700 degrees. It loses heat as he spins and blows to form the shape and it must be reheated at strategic moments during the process to keep it pliable. Jokingly, Halstead credits the delicate hand and eye coordination that this process requires to his early expertise at video games. “Blowing doesn’t take a lot of wind,” he adds, “but it takes a lot of strength. The glass must be spun constantly to keep it centered on the pipe and, at the end of a three-
Halstead used to be a wrestler, so he has both the strength and the endurance needed to face the intense radiant heat from the glass and studio temperatures that can climb over 120 degrees. Nevertheless, he can’t blow much longer than an hour without resting, so the process must be carefully orchestrated and often requires an assistant. “The bench person is the captain,” Halstead says, “but you need a lot of crew.” The glassblowers working with him must know the exact sequence of steps in advance. “You all need to be reading the same sheet of music,” he says.
Initially, Halstead was the person who gathered the glass on the pipe and applied the glass on the pipe and applied the color. His former partner blew the piece and then Halstead would crack it off, finish it, and put it in the annealer. In the early years of their business, when he and his partner rented studio space in Corning, time with the furnaces was at a premium. However, once they finished building their equipment and the handsome two-story studio in East Meredith, Delaware County, that now houses Jedi Glassworks, Halstead could “practice his chops” after they finished working for the day.
“Pulling a ball of glass from the furnace and turning it into a vase is like pulling a rabbit out of a hat. It’s seductive,” Halstead explains. He fell in love with glassblowing in 1996 and began learning the basic techniques from a friend who had studied the art in England. Halstead had been selling cars for five years, but soon quit to work with glass full time.
“At first I didn’t see myself as an artist at all,” he says. “And I’m still learning. But I’m
Initially, Halstead was the person who gathered the glass on the pipe and applied the glass on the pipe and applied the color. His former partner blew the piece and then Halstead would crack it off, finish it, and put it in the annealer. In the early years of their business, when he and his partner rented studio space in Corning, time with the furnaces was at a premium. However, once they finished building their equipment and the handsome two-
“At first I didn’t see myself as an artist at all,” he says. “And I’m still learning. But I’m
one hundred percent immersed in it. My whole life is glass.” He made a video of himself working at the bench because people who saw his pieces at exhibitions often doubted that such a young person could blow glass. “Now I punch the button and there I am,” he says with pride. Halstead particularly enjoys blowing large bowls and free-blown lamps that showcase the complex patterns he achieves using colored canes of glass. This elaborate process involves creating multi-colored rods that are fused together before he blows the piece. A lamp requires about an hour to blow the shade, another hour for the stem, and another for the base. Then the lamp parts must be inserted, a process he compares to building a ship in a bottle.
Light fixtures are Halstead’s great love and much of his work involves creating custom lighting. “I’m here for everybody who wants a custom piece,” says the artist, who plans to add a gallery area in his studio for the convenience of people selecting colors and designs for a piece that will be uniquely their own.
“It takes a ridiculous amount of money to run my studio,” he confesses. “Glassblowers are the truck drivers of the art world, and a lot of them don’t make it because they lack sales skills. I had that tuition in the school of life.” Selling cars taught Halstead how to organize and market himself and he takes Jedi Glassworks to annual shows in Las Vegas and abroad, as well as placing his work in stores in all 50 states. “For me the biggest thing is the look on someone’s face of ‘Wow!’ and when they ask me to sigh a piece, I feel like some kind of rock star.”
“It takes a ridiculous amount of money to run my studio,” he confesses. “Glassblowers are the truck drivers of the art world, and a lot of them don’t make it because they lack sales skills. I had that tuition in the school of life.” Selling cars taught Halstead how to organize and market himself and he takes Jedi Glassworks to annual shows in Las Vegas and abroad, as well as placing his work in stores in all 50 states. “For me the biggest thing is the look on someone’s face of ‘Wow!’ and when they ask me to sigh a piece, I feel like some kind of rock star.”
Inquiries about custom work can be directed to jediglassworks@hughes.net.