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Everyone Has
A Story: Art At 2,000 Degrees
A Pine Bluff man
is helping to shape the world through his art. He makes his
living at 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
It's a sea of
colors perfected by Mother Nature, captured in James Hayes'
art. James discovered glassblowing shortly after graduating
from Hendrix College in 1988.
"I always wanted to be an
artist, but I never really found my niche. I wasn't a very
strong painter or potter or anything like that, and I just
kind of found my knack with the glassblowing and just really
enjoyed it,” James recalls.
At first glance, it's hard
to imagine that something that starts out as glob of molten
glass could turn into something so unique. It all starts in a
furnace that's set at about 2,000 degrees.
“First, you
start out you make paperweights and you just learn how to keep
the glass centered and then you move up to blowing the glass,
blowing a bubble and transferring it and making like a bowl
out of it," he says.
In fact, bowls are James'
favorite thing to make. In 2003, he says he was asked to
create some as gifts for the lieutenant governor's conference.
“Bowls are a nice thing to give because they're a symbol of
sharing and friendship," James says.
One of his
biggest honors came in 1997 from then President Clinton and
Mrs. Clinton. “I had sent a paperweight to the president then
I got an invitation to design a special ornament for the White
House Christmas tree and did it. Sent it off, didn't think
anything of it and then got an invitation to go to the White
House and how often do you get invited to the White House? So
I went," he says.
Just one more event James says
inspires his art: everyday life. “You know, what people wear
or what I see in a magazine. You know, different color
combinations really inspire me," James says.
Something
else that inspires James is his family. He's even passing on
his trade to his 8-year-old daughter, Sydney.
“She'll
pick out her colors, you know, really sit at the bench and
work,” he says, “of course, I help her."
Life is good
for James. Every day, every piece is different and that's just
how he likes it. “It's like Christmas every day, you know. You
make something and you put it away in the oven and that's like
wrapping it and in the morning you open it up you get to see
what you make," he says.
For more information on James
Hayes and his art click on the link.
Created:
2/23/2006 4:50:13 PM
Updated: 3/6/2006 10:35:15
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