If you're interested in what's up on a regular basis, friend me on.... ...
12.22.2015
Frequently I have a bit of time left in my glassblowing day that's not enough to make a piece, so I often make cane cups for fun.
12.16.2015
I use 24" diamond disks and a 106" belt sander for my coldworking, so these tips apply to those machines. My favorite coldworking technique is all about avoiding the little bites, facets or scrapes you get when you put a piece down even a tiny bit off flat on a moving wheel. If the...
11.12.2015
Most of my work is flattened so I'm well-aquainted with corks--most specifically the smell of them burning. I'm generally using corks to flattening vessels that end up between 15-26" tall x 10-16" wide x 3-4" deep, so medium to larger work. Corks aren't the only tool to flatten glass, some other...
11.11.2015
This is cool :) You can view one that's more readable here.
09.17.2015
Getting cane and murrine onto a blowpipe presents a number of challenges, the first of which is what kind of plate to use and how to prepare it. I've tried all different methods and settled on what describe below. You've got to be careful about prepping and using plates or you'll get...
09.13.2015
My style of glassblowing isn't terribly common and the way I've evolved it is unique to me. This means that I occasionally need tools that aren't commonly made or I want them made a certain way. Heating plates of cane or murrine in the glory hole requires a pastoralle fork, but all...
09.11.2015
Ok, this isn't about wiping out something that you can fit your hand into--that's easy. This is about when you get something (cerium, moisture, dust, dirt) on the inside of a piece with a very small opening. Since my Spheres and Resistenza both have very small openings, I've figured out...
07.13.2015
Click the links below to access previous newsletters. #19 - Winter 2022#18 - Spring 2021#17 - Winter 2019#16 - Fall 2019#15 - Winter 2018#14 - Fall 2017#13 - Spring 2017#12 - Summer 2016#11 - Winter 2016#10 - Summer 2015#9 - Winter 2014#8 - Spring 2014#7 - Fall 2013#6 - Summer...
04.14.2015
I'm frequently asked about how to best light, secure and care for my glass so I thought it would be helpful to summarize my recommendations here for future reference. LightingAs the vast majority of my work is one-of-a-kind, each piece interacts a bit differently with light so experimentation...
04.13.2015
The website Splice has an interesting article by the director of photography from the "Detailers" video (the one featuring me) on what it was like to be behind the camera while shooting in the studio. You can find the article here.
03.26.2015
In This Update:New Gallery Representation:Petri's Fine Art - Sausalito, CAAn American Craftsman - NYCUpcoming Show: Chihuly Collection at Morean Arts CenterCommissions: Islands HotelPrototyping New Work: CrescentsDemo: Glass Art Society ConferenceRecent WorkPress: Western Art &...
03.04.2015
I don't know what it is with glassblowers, but most of us have a special affinity for tools. Maybe it's the fact that we can't really touch our material of choice, so more than for other artists/craftspeople, tools are a critical extension of our hands. While the types of tools are...
12.31.2014
Profiled in Dec 2014/Jan 2015 issue of Western Art & Architecture magazine in the Illuminations feature; Ones To Watch. You can download a copy here.
09.02.2014
I found these math-driven animated gifs on the Interwebs and thought they were super cool (although possibly a bit nasuseating).
04.23.2014
I'm often asked by glassblowers who shoots my work (me) and advice for photographing glass. Instead of replying by email each time, I'm going to summarize my setup and advice here so it's easy to reference. I've been a photo hobbyist for years and since I initially got into photography by...
04.21.2014
Excuse the poor formatting--it's tricky to get it into the blog.What's new with David Patchen Handblown GlassIs this email not displaying correctly?View it in your browser.In This Update:New Gallery Representation:Netherlands and HawaiiShows: Hsinchu Art Festival, Chihuly...
04.20.2014
Occasionally a commission that's different than my style of work comes along and it can be a fun change of pace.These corporate awards for a large pharmaceutical company's best-performing manufacturing plants were tricky to make but turned out beautiful. Elements of hot-sculpted glass in the...
04.09.2014
I'm teaching a class this summer on how to work with cane; specifically Uroboros' System 96 Rods. I rarely teach primarily because I'm super busy making my own work. Nevertheless, I've seen a lot of people around Public Glass struggling with cane and knew that I could help out without...
04.09.2014
Recently I created cast glass panels roughly 18" x 18" x 3/4" made from murrine suspended in clear glass. I experimented with panels years ago and I'm excited to revisit this format. I'm intending these as individual art pieces as well for ...
12.03.2013
I'm admittedly a bit of a music geek and my ear has been shaped by decades of listening to and playing guitar-based rock. Over the years I've gravitated toward technical and complex musical styles and mostly listen to music that's poly-rhythmic, harmonically complex and interesting to me--which I...
10.18.2013
I'm contacted a few times a year by students of glass about all sorts of stuff--mostly requesting visits, internships and advice on how to best learn glassblowing. I've answered enough of the education questions that I thought I would post them here so I can direct future inquires to this...
10.09.2013
The latest newsletter is out covering SOFA, new galleries and more. You can read it in your browser.
09.09.2013
Coverage of my show at Union University.