I recently had the pleasure of interviewing ~LaughingTree for *ArtisanCraft club’s interview feature. ~LaughingTree is a multi-talented and inspiring artisan, and this interview concentrates mostly on his beautiful glass work.
For a lovely formatted deviation of this interview check here > [link] , and you can also check out our other interviews for ~ScaryPotter > [link] and ~noformdesign > [link]

Enjoy! - //*inchworm > co-admin *ArtisanCraft club.

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So how long have you been blowing glass, and what kind of training have you received?

I have been blowing glass for almost 4 years now. The first three of them were at Ohio State University, where I first was introduced to the material. I've also taken workshops in both Istanbul, Turkey, and Stanwood Washington in addition to working with various artists at Ohio State and Pilchuck Glass School.

When I look at your gallery I am struck first by your use of colour, and next by your use of texture. Your pieces are so impressively multi-layered, how hard is it to blend so many aspects into one piece?

A lot of my pieces are experimental. I'm still quite new with the material and all its potential. I do a lot of experimenting with technique, color, and coldworking (Engraving). I generally will try something new and if I like it, I will continue that on the next piece. I like to consider it an evolution of an idea. Lately, I have been focusing quite strongly on incalmo (Combining multiple bubbles into one bubble, which is what gives my pieces their thick stripes of color) as well as engraving. I have been playing around with different tools that I have had available to me lately. The engraving allows me to add an extra dimension to my work. Both physically and visually. By engraving the work, I can take away some of the "shininess" of glass. It helps to differentiate the work from just being "pretty glass" in my opinion.
As far as if it's hard to blend so many aspects into one piece, I don't think so. Just like anything, with practice, things get easier. So much of what I'm doing now is experimentation, as I've not done it before, or I'm changing it a little to do things a bit differently. It all seems like the natural next step in the "evolution" of my work.

Examples of texture and colour >

From your gallery, it’s obvious that you are a multi-talented artist, what kinds of art do you create apart from glass?

Apart from glass, I work primarily with metal. Quite often I combine the two. A lot of what I do depends on the tools and facilities and materials at hand. When I have access to a glass shop or a metal studio, I try to take full advantage of that. Otherwise, I do draw and airbrush and sew, although none of them as much as I probably should. I try to do a bit of everything. If there's something I don't know how to do, I will learn it. I like to be very independent.

You have a number of photos of your creations from exhibitions, how many have you been a part of, and what are the differences between creating individual pieces and creating a collection for an exhibition?

I have been a part of a few exhibitions. I've only really had one solo exhibition where I truly created a "body" of work, and that show was my BFA thesis show. I really enjoyed creating that work. I had to do a lot of thinking about why I was making what I was making. And interestingly enough, most of those thoughts came after the fact. I find that when I am creating work, a lot of my thought processes are unconscious of sorts. I don't often plan ahead. I like to go where the material takes me. Especially in glass, where adapting to what the material wants to do is essential. Although I feel like my work is generally pretty cohesive as a whole because of the "evolution" process I go through with my work. That creates connections between each piece and the next and thus they all relate pretty well together in my opinion. As for how many exhibitions I've been in - Roughly 4-5 a year for the past 3 or so years.

Exhibition pieces >

Are there any particular artists that you take inspiration from?

My inspiration comes from many different places. Obviously from artists I admire, some of which include (In no particular order) : Tom Friedman, Andy Goldsworthy, Lino Tagliapietra, William Morris, HR Giger, and Salvador Dali. I also get a lot of inspiration from experiences in the world. I tend to pay close attention to trees as well as the anatomy of random people that I see around. My dad is a doctor, so I've always grown up around medicine and the human body. We had lungs in our attic growing up. My "Brushstrokes" series stems from paintsrokes and what they look like in my head - slightly abstracted. It's such a foreign concept compared to how I paint, as I paint very smoothly with little to no texture - So the glass pieces are a great way for me to add dimensionality and depth to brushstrokes that I've never created otherwise.

What do you want for your future in terms of your art, do you wish to make a living through it, and do you currently sell your pieces?

At the moment, I am doing a lot of assisting and learning. Glass is a funny material. It truly takes a lifetime to master. I'm still working on making a living out of it. In the meantime I have been bouncing around a lot and learning as much as I can. I have sold quite a few pieces, but I also supplement some income through web-design, graphic design, video production, metal fabrications, assisting other glassblowers, and random odd jobs. The most important thing at this stage is for me to be available when something comes my way, so I try not to get tied down in anything that can't be changed. All those jobs are things that can have whatever hours I choose and whenever I choose. Because of that I have been able to work with some incredible artists and it has helped me tremendously.

Do you have any advice for up and coming artists out there?

My advice to people is to actually have the drive to get things done. If you are in school, you will get out, ONLY what you put in. You have to put in everything you can, and if you do, you will be greatly rewarded. Also, learn to take the bad with the good. For every thing you get accepted to, you will be rejected to 12. That's the way it works. You just have to keep trying. Keep applying... And keep making new things.
Also, take advantage of every opportunity you can. You never know where that next lead is going to come from. You need to do the work... No one is going to do it for you. And finally, expect to make sacrifices. You can't do everything. You need to decide what specifically is important to you and balance that out with everything you want to do. Sometimes you have to give some stuff up... Quite often actually...