Recently, a very talented glass blower, Doug Frates‘ work was brought to my attention. His pieces have an amazing sense of movement as the colors and shapes spiral outward. His body of work has been referred to as liquid color, a very appropriate title. His pieces almost seem frozen in time, as if they were still in the process of being heated and expanding outward into crazy and interesting shapes.
I had the opportunity to ask Doug a few questions about his journey to the world of glass blowing. At a time when art seems to be moving into the digital world, with digital photography, graphic design, and computer animation on the rise, I love seeing traditional artists and crafters still at work. Doug’s artistic journey doesn’t take the typical path through art school, but instead, through a war in Iraq, an admiration for handmade glass, and an apprenticeship with two accomplished glass blowers, Tom Philabaum and Fritz Dreisbach.