Honing the art of glass
Glassblower Michael Martin creates unique forms with liquid "metal."
The art of blowing glass is steadily becoming more popular, thanks to the Netflix show Blown Away. It takes years of training to become a professional glass blower, and artist Michael Martin was hooked as soon as he was introduced to glass in 2012.
Martin attended Virginia Commonwealth University in his hometown of Richmond, Virginia where he graduated with a BFA in Craft and Material studies in 2016. Working in metal fabrication and hot glass, Martin worked in Richmond for many years before moving to Asheville, North Carolina where he is now a production glass blower and assistant gaffer at Lexington Glassworks.
Glass blowing originated in the Middle East during the first century BC, then spread to Murano, Italy in the 13th century. Glass techniques continued to evolve there and some of the finest glass in the world came out of Venice. Martin has visited the island of Murano many times to study glassblowing techniques he uses in his own work.
As a production glass blower, Martin is working on finding the perfect balance between making pieces for work and having time to further his own creative process.
A combination of functional ware with classic silhouettes and clean, high contrast glass “drawings,” Martin is is always making something unique. Taking him years to master, he makes bells entirely out of blown glass. He says the key to a functioning glass clapper is making sure it is long enough to have the flexibility to hit either side of the bell.
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Our writers at Actuality got to spend some time with Martin during a weeklong workshop at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. He is down to earth and incredibly knowledgable about glass. Follow him on Instagram @daybydayglass or plan a trip to Lexington Glassworks in Asheville, N.C. to see him create works in real time.