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ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: ARTIST INTERVIEW

 Behind the Scenes with Glass Artist David Lewin
by Noelle Backer

Working full-time in the '80s and early '90s at Wheaton Village, Creative Glass Center of America helped David Lewin gain the experience and stability he needed while he started his own glass business on the side. Nearly 20 years after his first encounter with glass, Lewin finally set up his own glass studio in 1997. He has received several grants from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.


glass vessel
Trumpet Vase

TCR: How did you begin working in glass?

DL: I had parents who were always very supportive of what I did. When I was four, I used to draw on the walls, so my mother gave me "my own wall" to draw and paint on. My mother nurtured my artistic side, always made it exciting and easy for me. Both of my parents always loved what I did, and that played a big role in my life. My dad was more concerned about me trying to make a living from art, though; he suggested I do something else and do the artwork on the side. If I had decided to be a printmaker, which is what I went to school for, I would have had to do that.

I encountered glass while I was in undergraduate school, working toward a bachelor's of arts degree in painting and printmaking from San Francisco State University. I had to take a class outside of my major, but it could be within the art department. I had seen this guy blowing glass in a funky studio, and it looked like something really fun to do. I took a class, and I loved it. But then in graduate school at San Francisco Art Institute, where I was enrolled in the master's of fine arts program for printmaking, the program was really strict, and wouldn't allow anything other than prints. So through a continuing education program, I began taking glass blowing classes at San Francisco State, and spent as much time in the studio as I could -- I would wait around for people not to show up for their studio time so I could use it.

In 1982, just as I was finishing graduate school, I was cleaning up the shop at San Francisco State at the end of the summer, and the president of the Tokyo Glass Art Institute walked in. We started talking, and he invited me to his hotel that night to see slides of my work. He then invited me to come to teach in Japan at the Tokyo Glass Art Institute. Of course, I went. While I was in Japan, the owner of a gallery in San Francisco that was showing my work sent me an application for a fellowship program; I got in, and when I got back to the U.S., I started the fellowship at Wheaton Village, Creative Glass Center of America in Millville, N.J.

After that, I quit doing glass for a year, but really missed it. I told the manager at Wheaton Village that if a job came up to let me know. Eventually, a job did come up, and I went to work there.

 

TCR: How did you get your business started?

DL: I began working at Wheaton, then started doing wholesale shows -- American Craft Council shows in Springfield and Baltimore, and the Rosen Group's Buyers Market in Philadelphia. I have been doing shows for about nine years. I filled my own orders out of Wheaton during that time, which was tough because I was working about 35 hours a week for them. It didn't leave much time to fill my orders, but it gave me a lot of experience. About two years ago, I finally built my own shop with a partner.

 

TCR: Do you regret not continuing with printmaking at all?

DL: I don't really miss printmaking ... but eventually I'm going to get to a point in my life where glassblowing will be too physically demanding, and I'd definitely enjoy painting again.

I often wonder how long I can keep doing this. I think the better you get at it, the less physical it becomes. If a piece is off center, it becomes a lot harder to turn. So the more control you have of the material, the less wear and tear on your body.

 

TCR: What challenges (if any) did you face in the beginning? How did you overcome them?

DL: That's the nice thing about glass for me -- it never stops being a challenge. To the last day that I blow glass in my life, I'll be challenged by the material. My best friend is a potter, and we've had heated discussions about which medium is more demanding. Forging metal is probably the most similar to the technical aspect of blowing glass, because once you begin a piece, you're committed to it at that moment -- you can't walk away. But with a pot, you can throw it, walk away, come back, change it, mold it, cut it. You can stand back and view the piece as you are working on it -- something you can't do while blowing glass. There's an intensity to the finality of glass, and I think that for anybody who blows glass this is why they do it; it's a totally instantaneous commitment.

The biggest challenge aside from that is the expense of the medium -- you better be able to sell a lot of work to keep up with the gas and electric bills. Relatively speaking, the glass itself isn't expensive, but the color can be expensive, especially if you're using a lot of it. Utilities are really expensive: the gas -- depending on how much you use it -- usually runs around $800-$1,200 a month. The furnace has a ceramic crucible in it and stays on 24 hours a day at 2,000 degrees, and goes up to 2,300 degrees when it's filled, for about 10 hours. We keep it on constantly because turning it on and off causes refractories to expand and contract, and in turn cracks them. It also takes about five days to bring the temperature up after changing the crucible, which is done about every nine months.

That's one of the nice things about working with a partner -- you can build a much nicer studio. I built a shop with a partner I met through a friend of mine. He makes his work, I make mine, but we share all the expenses, and keep track of the number of times each of us uses the equipment.

 

TCR: Have there been major turning points throughout your career?

DL: Having my own studio was probably the most significant event for me because I can finally do whatever I want; I'm more in control now than I ever was.

In my life, the biggest turning point was having kids -- one is 15 months and the other is four and a half. It changes everything.

 


sculptural glass
Dancing George

TCR: How did you decide to pursue your own studio, and how has it affected your work?

DL: Before I started selling wholesale, and even after, I was still doing one-of-a kind pieces. That's where my heart is, but I can't make a living from it just yet. I had always wanted my own furnace, but to have your own studio, you have to make a commitment to do production glass, or find another way to cover the cost.

I had to figure out a way to make money selling glass and running a studio. My one-of-a-kind sculptures were retailing for $6,000, and I was selling work, but it just wasn't enough to make sure I could pay the studio expenses and my other expenses. Plus, a lot of people do retail only, but if you have a family you might prefer not being on the road. Besides, I like working with wholesale buyers.

In the work I developed, each piece still has its own character, they all look a little different, move differently; that's the way I entertain myself, since I can't make strictly one-of-a-kind works.

Wheaton Village is based around the paperweight, so I got really good at making paperweights while I was there. The nicest part for me is designing the piece, whether it's a design for a $950 piece or a paperweight. I make one design (sketch first), but the pieces rarely look like the drawings; each piece grows from there. I change it, make it again, change it, etc., until I feels that it works.

 

TCR: You separated your production/paperweight work from your higher-end and one-of-a-kind work by establishing two businesses: FTM Glass Studio for paperweights and desktop accessories, and David Lewin Glass Design for your higher-end and one-of-a-kind work. Why?

DL: The markets for paperweights and for higher-end, sculptural work are so different, that the distinction makes sense to me. When people buy something that I sign under my name, it should be something I feel more personal about. ... I do take pride in my paperweights, but it's very removed from my heart; it's my bread and butter. I do enjoy the difference between the two types of work and switching back and forth. I've learned a lot about glass from making paperweights. There's always something to observe when there's molten glass at the end of a rod.

 

TCR: What are the price ranges for your production work and higher-end work?

DL: Work under David Lewin Glass Design sells from $240 to $950. Prices for FTM Glass range from $18 to $35, and sells well as corporate gifts and desktop accessories. FTM Glass Studio is a great way to have a quicker turnaround and cash flow.

 

TCR: How did you get into the corporate gift market?

DL: The FTM pieces are a natural fit for unique, affordable corporate gifts. There are reps who go out and find corporations that are interested in your work, and take orders for you. A lot of these reps come to the trade shows.

 

TCR: Who is the primary market for your work?

DL: I sell mostly to galleries. With the work made under the name David Lewin Glass Design, I have about 60 wholesale accounts. FTM Glass Studio has well over 100.

 

TCR: How did you develop such a strong wholesale business?

DL: Some of the galleries found me at the wholesale shows. Before I did the wholesale shows, though, I entered a lot of competitions, and would send galleries a slide packet of my one-of-a-kind pieces and follow up. I can't stress enough the importance of quality slides -- slides are everything. I saw Dale Chihuly give a lecture once, and he explained how his career was built on photographs of his work -- think about how many people actually see his work and how many have just seen the photos.

 

TCR: What business insight have you gained over the years?

DL: Looking back, I realize I should have built my own shop a long time ago. I've also learned that establishing a business is a matter of time; for example, your first show typically is not going to be a great show. Buyers need to get to know you and your work; they need to see that you are going to be consistent in making your work, as well as dependable and responsible.

 

TCR: Do you have any plans for a Web site?

DL: Not really. I'm not saying I would never do it -- I do think it's the wave of the future. But I think you should take your time and do it gradually to do it right. I've seen the imagery on people's Web sites, and a lot of it still is pretty rusty; I'm a real stickler for images, and some of it looks good, but it needs to look better.

 


FOR MORE INFORMATION

David Lewin
Box 2491
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
(610) 660-0864

TCR: Where do you plan to go from here?

DL: Basically, I hope to keep making work and surviving, and having fun. I try to have as much fun as I can doing what I do. Owning your own business can be pretty stressful -- there's never any guarantee, and the bills keep coming. I'm not the perfect candidate for that; I get pretty stressed-out about that stuff. I think entrepreneurs have to do things that others wouldn't.

I've had my shop for two years, I've been doing shows for nine, and every year keeps getting better and better. It's partly because the work is getting better, and because dealing with production gets easier. I plan on making more time to work on one-of-a-kind pieces.


Noelle Backer is senior editor of The Crafts Report.

MAY 1999:

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