Glassblowing was always a fantasy of mine, however metalsmithing always called louder, so I never ended up exploring the art of working in glass on a big scale. Nevertheless, that never diminished my interest in the subject, and the first time I encountered the exceptionally talented glass artist Andy Paiko’s work, I was smitten – obsessed really. For over two years, I couldn’t get out of my head his fully functioning glass scale (that I hadn’t purchased) and consequently I made sure that it was one of my next splurges. The phenomenal sculpture now sits proudly in my “curiosity cabinet”-themed library at home and is one of my most prized artworks. A while after my purchase, I saw images of Andy in Venice working with bits of colored scrap Murano glass placed inside his magical bell jars. Immediately I thought, wouldn’t that be cool with featured gems… and as I pulled together artists to feature in my Santa Fe Gallery, I reached out to Andy to see if I could commission him to build bell jars around gemstone specimens I sourced. I’m delighted with the results, and I hope you’ll have the opportunity to visit my Gallery in Santa Fe to see them in person. In the meantime, here is a little interview with Andy:

Andy, I first fell in love with your glass art that moved and functioned – like your seismograph, polygraph and your balance scale. what first drove you to experiment with taking something so fragile and using it to execute pieces so functional?

After several years of making traditional glassware (vases, bowls, cups, etc) and functionless decorative vessel-forms, I became curious of what other objects I could make that were more conceptually interesting. I saw somewhere that someone had made a glass hammer, so I made one too. I loved the simple irony of the thing: a representation of power and strength made of something so fragile. It was also technically functional- once. This led me to think about what other “functional” objects I could make. My latent interest in the history of science and technology played a role, and the glass objects became more and more complicated problem-solving exercises.

Glass-blowing has always been alluring for me, but I’ve always been more distracted with metalsmithing! Tell me how you first came to work with glass and about your trajectory to getting where your style and career has evolved to today.

I do not have a degree in glass and did not go to school to study glass. I got introduced to glassblowing by a friend when I was 19 in central/northern California, which led me to apprentice with Fred Cresswell, who was involved in the California Art-glass revival in the 1970’s. We were mainly trying to re-learn Louis Comfort Tiffany’s hidden lustre-glass chemistry and blown-glass practice. I also apprenticed with a couple of his friends that he introduced me to over a period of about 10 years while I attended university. I made glass and practiced in the hotshop 4-5 days a week over this entire time. Once I graduated university, three friends and I built our own hotshop/studio from scratch, in Central California. By the time I moved with my wife to Portland, OR, in 2005, I was making my own unique work and experimenting with different techniques of assemblage and sculpture, and accepting private commissions. I have been running my own solo glassmaking business since then. I enjoy combining old and new technology, both material-wise and in the hotshop. From using recycled glass efficiently and using new tech in the melting and forming processes, new furnace design and innovation, to new interfaces between LED lighting hardware and wireless motion control, everything is on the table now. The glassblowing process is most satisfying for me when the complex looks simple and the simple becomes the most complex. 

I suspect your work and my jewelry work are similar in process – putting wildly diverse elements together to make an entirely new entity. What you do and how you do it makes glass very modern and “today”. Who inspired you?

I’ve always had a fondness for collage- both 2-D and 3-D. Many of my pieces are composed of multiple parts that are able to be dis-assembled and fit back together. In this sense, Max Ernst, of course…. The sculptors Tim Hawkinson and Tom Friedman, Douglas Copeland, Matthew Barney, to name a few out there. Also, Louise Bourguois, Eva Hesse, Laurie Anderson, and Martin Puryear. Obviously, all the artists and designers I’ve worked with over the years. My friend Mark Zirpel makes amazing things often involving glass and bizarre objects interacting with time and space and natural processes. The juxtapositions of antique and/or natural objects and textures mixed with modern design are very intriguing to me. Local ceramicist Emily Counts had the best gallery show I’ve seen in years here in Portland recently! Emily Bixler of BOET in Portland! Jewelry and sculpture.... Other white dudes/collage masters Brian Eno and David Byrne. Ettore Sottsass. Dirk Staschke ceramics. Lots more. Basically anyone in any medium making smart and interesting work.

What’s been your favorite commission?

My favorite thing I’ve ever made wasn’t made of glass! It was a 6-ft tall mechanical metronome made of water-jet cut and anodized aluminum. Also the “Transference” sound sculpture (with composer Ethan Rose) commissioned by the now-defunct Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland. The Polygraph was fun…

You spend a year (?) in Italy with Murano glass. Did your time there working with one of the most famous, traditional historical glass making locations in the world change your mindset or your glass work in any way? What was the best thing you took away from that experience?

It has been one of the greatest pleasures in my life to able to spend the time I have had learning about the culture and craft and people on Murano. What has impressed me the most is the jarring difference between the young American Studio Glass movement and the traditional 1000+ year old Muranese factory model. I have observed that Americans make and form glass by using their tools and equipment to impose a sense of control over an unpredictable material, often with great results. In contrast, the Muranese make and form glass by using the known inherent beauty and material character of the glass itself to “reveal” a predictable desired outcome, with unmatched results. In short, Americans work with their tools, while Italians work with their glass. I absolutely LOVE realizing this. It will be difficult for me to change my personal way of working after 25 years, but there are many insights and tips I picked up working with Roberto Beltrami at Wave (and others) that I will continue to utilize and reference for the duration of my career. Working the glass on Murano, trying to do it the way the fellas in the factory did was challenging. I felt like a beginner, which, though unsettling, is probably really good for me! My work and practice and focus will be forever changed for having spend the time there. 

Seeing your bell jars holding scraps of colorful Murano glass inspired my idea to team up with you and place gem specimens in your decorative bell jars. I’m completely obsessed with the final outcome. What else can we do?!

Well….  There’s no limit, really… Whatever you can think up and sketch out we could work on!