August 2005

Wesley Fleming • Elemental Glass

Long-legged spiders and shiny beetles, creeping lizards and undulating octopi are just some of the creatures Wesley Fleming lampworks to life in his Brookline, Mass., studio. Fleming started working with glass in 2001, first taking classes at the Center for Adult Education in Cambridge, Mass., then monitoring glass artists at MIT. Eventually, he had the opportunity to work with such artists as Steve Fellerman of Fellerman and Raabe Glassworks, and with Josh Simpson, as part of his studio team. While these studios primarily work in blown glass, it was at this point when Fleming learned about lampworking, a technique he has pursued ever since. Fleming now works at Diablo Glass and Metal in Boston. He teaches classes in exchange for studio time, and sells his work at shows around the New England area.

TCR: How did you first become interested in and get involved in working with glass and how did your work evolve from where it started to the work you create today?

WF: I was living in Berkeley, Calif., and bought a lampworked bead from an artist on Telegraph Avenue. I was seriously fascinated by this bead, and could not imagine how it could possibly have been fabricated. The seed was planted in my head, and so when I found out about a glassblowing class at my local adult education center two years later, I had to take it. The class was in furnace-worked glass (popularly known as glassblowing), and it took me a while to figure out that the bead that originally hooked me into exploring glass was made by the lampworking process, rather than furnaceworking.

Two years after I became involved with hot glass. I was working for a glassblower who was friends with a lampworker who lent me some books and glass to get started with lampworking. Since then, I have not done any more furnace-worked glass and have been intensely focused on learning the techniques of lampworking.

TCR: How have you pursued your career?

WF: I have always been interested in three dimensional sculpture. I spent a lot of time in high school studying fabrication of jewelry from sheet metal and the lost-wax metal casting technique. This provided a solid foundation for my glasswork. In 2001, I took a glassblowing class through a local adult education center and was immediately hooked. I left my desk job to do a full-time internship with a glassblower in western Massachusetts. After this, I worked part- to full-time at a number of different glass shops around Massachusetts before I got turned on to lampworking. I started out making lampworked glass beads to get the feel for how to work the glass over the torch. The beads, however, were only a jumping off point to making glass sculpture and figures, which are my desired form of expression.

TCR: Who is the market for your work? What is your strategy for reaching them?

WF: My artwork is for those people whose imagination is stimulated by my glass figures. I am fascinated by the natural world and mythological beasts, and strive to bring these into being in this world as glass figures. I reach these folks through word-of-mouth, shows, my website, and I hope to soon be represented in galleries, as well.

TCR: Where does the bulk of your business come from…is it wholesale shows? Direct to gallery sales? High end retail shows? Commissions? How do you make your living from your glass?

WF: I mainly do retail shows in New England, and commissions by word of mouth. Another large portion of my business is teaching others how to lampwork glass. In fact, this month I am living in residence at a craft camp for teenage aspiring artists teaching glass lampworking all day, every day! At this point, I don't yet make my full living from my glasswork, but plan to be doing so within the next two years.

TCR: Have there been major turning points in your career as a glass artist?

WF: It takes a long time to become technically proficient working with hot glass. For me, it was about three years before I could anything that was really salable. I felt this as a huge turning point when I did my first sale. Although it wasn't a major show, it really made me feel I had achieved something when folks were coming to see and buy my artwork – it was very validating after having put so much hard work into learning. Also, this April I had the opportunity to study with two Venetian master lampworkers. Both come from a lineage of glassworkers and carry an incredible wealth of knowledge and skill. I learned many techniques from them which I have been trying to figure out and wanting to learn for some time now. These techniques have really enabled me build a solid repertoire of skills for my expression.

TCR: Do you see any business challenges specific to artists who work in glass? How have you overcome these?

WF: Lampworking glass is very hazardous. Of course there are the obvious fire hazards associated with working over an open flame. But it is also important to be aware that melting glass over a torch involves a host of poisonous chemicals which are produced and/or released when heating the glass, such as carbon monoxide and silver in gaseous form. It is imperative to be informed about safety rules and regulations and especially to set up adequate ventilation in the working area. I know of a number of artists whose shops have been shut down by their local fire marshal. Obviously, it is important to stay on the good side of these officials — not just for legality, but because there are very good reasons for the safety guidelines which they have set out!

TCR: What has been the most difficult thing you have encountered in your work?

WF: The most difficult challenge I have encountered in my glass work is access to studio space. I live in a small apartment in Boston, so for safety reasons I can't set up a studio space in my home. I have been doing work-exchange for use of the lampworking studio at a local glass shop, in order to get in and do my artwork.

TCR: What, in terms of business insight, have you learned to do or not to do over the years?

WF: The two most important business insights I have learned are:

1) Networking is a very important tool. By getting to know other artists, I can learn about teaching, show, and gallery opportunities I otherwise would never have known about. It never hurts to have people know that you're out there! I've gotten a number of teaching positions when a fellow artist learns of a position which they personally cannot fill, and pass the info along to the community.

2) Never give up on your dreams! I had to work extremely hard to get my foot into the world of the glass art business. In fact there were times that I was ready to give up, but I am very fortunate to have a spouse who spurred me on at these moments. Persistence has gotten me jobs working for renowned glassblowers and teaching at fun craft programs. Anything is possible if you apply your will positively and keep the faith.

TCR: How has the Internet affected your business?

WF: The Internet has been wonderful for my business. Although I haven't yet sold anything online, the Internet has been a tremendous resource, both for networking with the general glass lampworking community and for doing research on techniques, finding out about craft shows, and getting new ideas for my glass work. There are several very active online forums, where glass lampworkers from all over the world share their knowledge about the craft, clue others in to different local and national craft shows, and also share pictures of their artwork. Because lampworkers can often be geographically isolated, and tend to work by themselves, this has really brought a lot of folks together in a virtual community. Occasionally, when I am at a craft show I will run into another lampworker whom I have known online but never met in person. This is always fun, as we basically know each other but have never met!

TCR: What is the next step for you?

WF: I don't yet have my own studio, but am looking to buy a home within the next year. At such time, I can put together my own studio and begin doing my glass artwork full time. I feel that this will give me the momentum to step into full expression of my ideas and visions with the glass.

TCR: What is your show Schedule…if you have one…and where is your work available and through whom?

WF: Here is the list of shows I will be doing in the next year. I am also open to working with customers on commissions.

Hawthorne Valley Yuletide Fair Saturday December 3, 2005 Harlemville, NY		Brookline Open Studios May 20th-21, 2006 Brookline, MA
Glass Bead Extravaganza April 15th 2006 Watertown, MA		Coolidge Corner Arts Festival June 8, 2006 Brookline, MA

Contact Information

Wesley Fleming
Elemental Glass

http://www.elementalglass.com/
contact@elementalglass.com
800-489-8934
P.O. Box 470414
Brookline, MA 02447