Glass
Scott Hartley
New to Spring 2025!
Benton, KS
Booth 410
Featured Artist
As a kid, I had dreams and aspirations of being a professional artist and never could have imagined this would become my reality. Teaching high school science & coaching athletics fulfilled a part of my soul because it allowed me to inspire and educate young people; however, something was missing. Art was always my escape, my method of making sense of the world. As much as I tried to incorporate art into my teaching, it simply was not enough.
I was introduced to glass when I most needed it. Twenty-two years later, I could not be more grateful for what glassblowing has brought to my life. After working in a glass factory and honing my skills there for a few years, I realized how much I wanted the freedom to create artwork that spoke not only to my soul, but also to the souls of others. In 2003, I opened Infinity Art Glass in a small town in Kansas.
Early in my career as an artist, I felt a need to try to produce artwork that I thought other people might want. This mentality was extremely limiting, both in my work and in my life. After several years, I made the conscious decision to make what I wanted to make & what I was passionate about. As my skill level increased, so did my willingness to take risks, both physically and stylistically. The connectedness between science and glass became even more evident during this time. Not a day goes by that I am not learning something new from working with glass. It challenges me to ask questions and push the boundaries of what I know and do not know. Science gave me the basis and foundation I needed to make sense of glass and find answers not only about working with this medium, but also about myself.
We walk through this world independently, yet we are all connected. I want my work to emote just how much better we all are when we stand together as one. Every piece I create is unique, as it is hand-blown and sculpted on the end of a blowpipe. It was created from the beginning to stand alone… yet intertwine, to perfectly balance... while defying the laws of gravity, and to create harmony as a beautifully diverse set.
There is more to the art of glass blowing than meets the eye. Simply seeing the end product as a beautiful, glass sculpture is not truly enjoying glass art. Just as watching your child grow from one day to the next, the process is part of the amazement and wonder of glass. Glass is made from a mixture of about 70% sand, soda ash, and several other hazardous chemicals. I mix these myself and load them into a special furnace which reaches temperatures of 2,200 degrees. The furnace runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days each year (natural gas isn’t cheap for glass artists). The mixture of glass must melt for 24 hours before it can be used in any piece of art. A blowpipe is used to get gathers or layers of glass from the furnace. They vary in size according to the weight of the glass…from a ½-inch diameter pipe for smaller pieces to a 1 ½-inch diameter pipe for pieces that weigh 30 pounds or more. Glass artists work from the inside out on a piece (the larger the piece, the more layers of glass). Generally, the colored glass, dichroic glass, cane, designs, and detailing is done first using a variety of hot & cold glass chips and colored glass. Yes, ALL that you see in my work IS glass. Not much else could withstand these extreme temperatures. Each and every time I put another layer of glass over an inner layer, I get 2,000+ degrees in my face from the furnace as I spin the pipe through the honey-like molten glass. Molding and shaping the glass using a variety of sizes of wood blocks (bowls with handles), blowing air into the piece, using wet newspapers to shape, metal molding, swinging the glass with help from gravity, pure, brute strength, and lots of skill and finesse are all part of the art of glass blowing.
After creating a piece, keeping it hot at all times using a reheating chamber that reaches temperatures of 2,500 degrees, the piece is then broken off the pipe using precise marks and skill. The glass is placed in an annealing oven for 2 days to cool it to room temperature so as not to stress the glass and cause cracking. Finally, the glass is cut, ground, polished, cleaned, graded, and signed which can take hours on some pieces. The journey of art is complete, for the time being, and the end product is for all to enjoy and cherish. After I pour myself into my glasswork, I believe that the glass speaks for itself and for me. Nothing gives me more peace of mind than the quiet roar of a glass furnace on a calm, clear day and me with a blowpipe in my hand and a piece of myself on the end.
To see a time lapse video of me at work, see the YouTube link below.