Journal

12.04

Making my work is pivotal to my well being. It is through the creative process I learn about myself and the world around me. The stages of personal exploration, experimentation, reflection and discovery that occur while I work take me to new levels of understanding. The process yields new information. The new information is progress. Progress leaves a sense of accomplishment and purpose which drives me to create again. My primary focus is to continue to create and to allow the creation process to change and grow as I mature.

Teaching is enjoyable to me for similar reasons. Watching someone develop an understanding for something I am trying to communicate gives me a sense of accomplishment and a sense of pride in that student‘s accomplishment. Teaching also challenges me to communicate in a manner that is easy to understand and to be patient while the student develops. I learn about my own process by helping others overcome problems they encounter in their process. Another desire of mine is to continue introducing students to molten glass and providing the opportunity for them to have a personal experience with it.

Living in Montana has proven to be a memorable and rewarding experience. In addition to the inspiring mountain peaks, which never elude my peripheral vision, I have found a wonderful community that shares many of my personal values. One drawback is that there are very few professional glass artists in the state. The only time I get to interact within the community of glass artists is when I travel. My ultimate goal is to return to Montana and continue what I have begun but with more experience and knowledge. Ideally, I would like to help The University of Montana develop a glass department and operate it with them. If not, I will offer classes in my studio, as I have in the past, possibly for University of Montana credits. I would like Missoula, Montana to one day be a destination for glass students and instructors from around the globe to meet and learn together.

Attending graduate school, I believe, is the next logical step to achieving these goals. It is a place where I can allow my work to mature without the pressure of running a business and creating production work. The resources of the school will allow me to work larger and free from the restrictions of limited equipment. In school, I hope to learn about presenting my work and ideas more effectively within the context of the art world. I look forward to being a part of the glass studio and interacting with contemporaries, and if the opportunity presents itself, I will use the knowledge from nine years of study and four years of teaching to instruct underclassmen. My life’s goal is to continue creating and to never stop learning.

 Jan. 2005
 We packed up all our things in Montana and headed East in a short
school bus packed to the gills.
We only left behind our foot prints, our friends, and a VW bus jammed
full of goodies in a storage unit.
On the way East, we visited Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.
The school I had been accepted to for graduate studies for fall 2005.

Feb 2005
 We ended up in Columbus, Ohio. I did some work for my brother Brett
and mounted all our glassblowing equipment on a trailer, so we could
make our work wherever we go. Julia did a lot of biking on the local
bike path, which was a far cry from the rugged mountain trails of
Montana. She took up lampworking (small scale glassblowing using a
torch) in her free time and got to ride on her first roller coaster at
Cedar Point amusement park. Wren turned one, perfected walking, started
talking, and cut about six teeth. He also got to know some family well
and made tons of friends.

Aug 2005
  We moved, again, to Carbondale, Illinois. And I started working on my
MFA. We found a great house to  rent, thickly settled in the woods. The
property borders a state park (Giant City) which provides lots of space
for hiking. Julia is excited to get the trailer glass shop operational
so she can keep working. She also plans to finish her BFA at SIUC while
we are here. She has about a two years left. Wren is anxious to
make new friends here and loves getting to play outside all the time.
He changes so much day to day; talking more, giving hugs and kisses,
and working on the art of expressing his needs. The head of the glass
department is working on a plan to send me to Korea to build a mobile
glass shop that will be used to demonstrate glassblowing there. He is
from Korea and has many connections. I don’t know how soon that would
happen, but I think it would be a great opportunity. The international,
annual Glass Arts Society conference will be held in St. Louis next
summer, which is very exciting for us since we are only two hours from
there.

Jan 2007

             1997-8 Daniel Schreiber. Columbus, OH. Glassblowing assistant.

             1999 Cedar Point Amusement Park. Sandusky, OH. (bench working)

Kittrell Riffkind Dallas, Texas

Bronze Planet Bozeman, Montana

The Wood Gallery Newport, Oregon

Artique Lexington, Kentucky

Exhibitions:

June 2004 Our Work, Our Life: Robin and Julia. .Art Missoula. Missoula, MT

April 2003 Cloud Cap Glass Show. Art Missoula. Missoula, MT

Awards/Scholarships: