Firekist Glass: Get to know the Artist!
Nothing says Firekist Glass like his iconic snakeskin style glass pieces that many of you have come to recognize and love. Firekist has been blowing glass for over two decades and his dedication to the craft shows. We are blown away by Firekists attention to detail and high quality creations. Here at Tako Glass we are always so stoked to carry his glass in our shop!
Before blowing glass, Firekist said his artistic background was basically non-existent. He earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry, but was always seeking out a medium of expression. Firekist had a few experiences with glass that might have sparked something inside him. From bending test tubes on a bunsen burner in 1994 in a chemistry class, to taking a scientific glass blowing class in college around 1998. Firekist was on to something, he just didn't know it yet.
Painting, drawing and sculpting never felt quite right to him and the second he saw glass blowing he was captivated. In 2001 he watched a coworker make inside out spoons and bats. Seeing all the different colors of glass and someone using a big torch instead of a bunsen burner, hooked him. He watched his buddy blow glass for hours on end for months. Glass was at his foundation, but it took him a second to figure that out.
After he knew glass blowing was what he wanted to do, Firekist quickly quit his job, bought the equipment, and moved into a farm house with his brother to start lampworking fulltime. Firekist's switch to full time happened in 2002 in remote part of Wisconsin. Being isolated he relied on online resources like thegldg.com quite a bit.
Shop this Snakeskin Sherlock Here
Today, Firekist naviagates the professional art industry and its challenges by keeping his pressence known. He goes to stores, art shows, trade shows and stays active on instagram which has helped him keep up with the glass blowing world over the years. He says he shares what he likes and shows it in his work, keeping high quality standards and creating his very best ideas. "The rest seems to follow", Firekist stated.
Firekist has always been inspired by beautiful glass. Whether it's his own creations or the work of others, he loves sharing alluring pictures of the process to keep himself motivated. Firekist says creating new items or polishing old ideas always keeps him inspired on the torch. In the past he has described his process as follows, “I love seeing the colors fuming produces. I love creating objects I find to be beautiful. Every couple years of refinement of established items, I tend to pop out a new idea of something to try."
Click here to check out this Snakeskin Donut Pipe
Being from the midwest, Firekist has enjoyed blowing glass in the popular styles from the area. He says that the midwest has maintained that thick, inside out glass as their desired glass pieces and he happily creates that for his customers. He loves layering and using lots of colors.
In 2004 Firekist started developing his snakeskin technique which he has perfected and refined throughout the years. Firekist snakeskin pipes are the result of an incredible process that involves texturing the colored hot glass core tubes, then fuming with gold, silver, or a combination of both. He then infuses clear tubing as a sleeve, melting it around the core tube to trap the texture and fume colors that come as a result! It’s seriously wild!
Get your own Snakeskin Dragon Egg Pipe Here
His marble-style pipes continue to be a unique contribution as well, and Firekist continues to explore the never-ending possibilities. Additionally, he’s aiming to broaden his horizons further with more collabs with other great artists in the future.
Firekist's styles have develop and changed over time through constant polishing and refinement. He says that a lot of his ideas are old, but the execution, proportions and colors have been fine tuned. Firekist stated that even his fuming has come a long way and that has been a huge driver in the development of his craft.
Anemone Marble Pipe made of nearly 2 inches of borosilicate glass!
As an artist, Firekist's goals extend to achieving greater recognition for his work and reaching more collectors; he would love to see his snakeskin pipes and marble pipe work become even more sought after! He hopes to leave a mark on the art form of glass and would like to see his work recognized for his contributions after he’s gone.
Overall, his aim is to live a good life, with time for his family, as he finds the greatest challenge to life as an artist is the ever-elusive achievement of balance.
On thoughts of how incredibly massive the glass-blown pipe/ bong market has become, Firekist Glass says “Its growth and size is proof of how large a part of our society this really is.”
And we couldn’t agree more!
Check out the entire Firekist Collection on our website Www.Takoglass.com and see what all the hype is about!
