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Lisa Tate’s hand blown glass art
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Morning coffee conversation on Friday was filled with colorful descriptions of an unforgiving art medium. Lisa Tate, one of the Art Source Gallery’s featured artists for the month of October, sipped her latte while chatting about her love, glass.
“Glass blowing is not something you can learn in a couple of weeks. It is an expensive and unforgiving medium-it is beautiful, graceful and elegant-nothing compares to glass,” Tate said. When she first moved to Boise from Missoula, Mont., Tate was skeptical about the art scene. Tate claims that her decision to stay is one she will never regret because “Boise is becoming a vibrant cultural community with a greater appreciation for the arts.” First Thursday happens to be one of those authentic Boise events established to bring more attention to the downtown areas, especially the art scene.
Sporting my super sassy glass earrings, I told Tate about my fascination with glass art and the topic of color kicked off.
Tate mentioned my earrings were dicro where the artist layers color then clear glass and then another layer of color to give them a three-dimensional look. Tate said she started with fusing and sandblasting but now hand blows her pieces. “Glass blowing is very addictive, I can’t live without it or I go through withdrawals,” Tate said.
Along with the creative product, blowing glass for Tate alleviates all the stresses and allows all of her problems to disappear for a few moments. She compares this serenity to the feeling she gets when she hang glides, “Once you start [a piece] you have to finish, the focus is very relieving it makes you clear your head,” Tate said.
Tate has taken classes all over the country and has perfected her art but the reason she is so passionate about glass blowing rests on the fact that there is always something new to learn and try whether it be a new method or experimenting with different minerals and grains in color.
Tate’s advice to any aspiring artist looking into blowing glass is to get involved with in-depth courses and if all goes well find a place to live where you can work and continue to learn. Being an artist is a life style, much like that of an adventure athlete. Whether shredding down a mountain busting out a 360-tail grab or melting down glass in kiln, the medium of expression used “infiltrates everything you do,” Tate said.
Tate’s work will be on display at the Art Source Gallery at 1015 Main all month.
Amber Fuger
Assistant Culture Editor
