Jill Reynolds wanted to be an artist, but she couldn't draw. Then she took a class in glass blowing

Business writer

PITTSFIELD — Jill Reynolds practices an ancient art that began in the Middle East before the birth of Christ and has been performed in North America since 1739.

It's known as glassblowing, and Reynolds does this at Cheshire Glassworks, the small store she has operated in her hometown of Cheshire since 2006. It's not an easy task to master, but Reynolds, who studied visual art at Berkshire Community College, finds it both enjoyable and creative.

We asked her why she took up the practice and how it's done.

Q: I know you're an artist. Where did the interest in working with glass come from?

A: When I was younger, a teenager, I started making jewelry because I just liked to do it. A friend's mother had taught me how to do macrame. I liked it and I started making necklaces, giving them to my friends. I began selling them to my friends at a store in the [Berkshire] Mall. I got pretty good at making them so I was always on the lookout for beads.

Q: So that led you to glass?

A: I met some glass artists that had beautiful glass beads and I would buy them from them. I just always loved them, the glass especially. It was just beautiful and I wanted to make my own. I got to the point where I wanted to make something that was completely 100 percent handmade. I wanted the beads, the necklace, the whole nine yards.

Q: What did you do?

A: It's not really that easy to learn, and it's not too common around here. But they offered a class down at Stockbridge (at the Berkshire Art Center, formerly IS183) when it was called Interlaken. They had a weekend workshop to learn how to make glass beads and I signed right up for it. I took it. It was awesome. It was challenging. It was hard.

Where it started: It is generally believed that glass blowing was invented by Syrian craftsmen between 27 BC and 14 AD. Glass making was discovered around 4,000 years ago in Mesopotamia. One group of clay tablets detailing glassmaking from the library of King Assurbanipal of Mesopotamia (668-627 B.C.) is currently housed in the British Museum. The same basic ingredients are still used today.

When it arrived here: German colonist Caspar Wistar founded the first successful American glasshouse in Pennsylvania in 1739. Glasshouses in New Jersey and Massachusetts operated for many years, creating windows for the new colonies by spinning molten glass on the end of a pipe to create flat sheets that could later be cut into window panes.

Origins in science: in the 1600s, glass makers in England discovered the magnification properties of glass when it was formed with a particular curve, which led to the invention of the microscope and telescope. Modern scientific inventions include the light bulb and the television set.

Origins in art: At the 1878 Paris Exhibition, designers Eugene Rousseau and Emile Galle led the Art Nouveau period that lasted until the 20th century. It is a style characterized by curves that match well with the fluidity of glass.

Advances in art: The studio glass movement was born in the 1960s. American glass makers shifted from factory environments to independent studios. Instead of being characterized by a particular style or philosophy, this movement has been focused on the glass itself, the artists who make it, and an overall sense of community amongst creators and producers.

Sources: Encyclopedia Britannica, Corning Museum of Glass, grayartglass.com

Q: Sounds like it was a lot harder than you thought.

A: I thought that as soon as I picked it up it was going to be like this golden moment where I was great at it, but it wasn't like that. It was a lot of work. There is a huge learning curve. It's a tricky medium, you know. Just getting used to how to work with it, it's crazy.

I took that one class, and I also had some friends that taught me a little bit. But most of it was just me learning on my own. Trial and error, trying to figure things out. I didn't have a lot of formal training so it kind of makes for a unique style, I think. But I really like it, you know?

Q: What do you mean by trial and error?

A: It's just practicing. There's no substitute for practice. You have to learn how the glass moves because it gets the consistency of putty almost. It's liquid. You know it's a solid that turns into a liquid and then it turns solid again. While it's liquid that's when you get to work with it. You just have to figure out how to move that liquid so it does what you want it to do. It takes a lot of practice. Then you add in the colors, and the colors — they do their own things. You think it's going to be one shade of blue and it comes out completely different. There's a chemistry to the colors as well.

Q: It sounds like you really have to finesse this to get it right. How long did it take you to get the process down?

A: After about a year I could do cool designs. I could make a lot of pendants. After a good solid two-and-a-half to three years I was finally comfortable to get what was in my brain out into an actual piece.

Q: How do you actually do it?

A: You just blow into [a] big glass tube. Sometimes I have a little blowhole that's attached to the end of the tube and I have a little mouthpiece that I put in my mouth and I blow through it. You keep the [liquid glass] even, evenly spinning because once it's hot and you're moving it around, every move you make kind of effects the final outcome. You want as little jarring around as possible.

Q: How long does it take for you to make a piece?

A: It varies. Anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes. I can work on a piece for a couple of hours depending on the size.

Q: What kinds of things do you make?

A: I make a lot of pendants, a glass pendant for a necklace, with designs inside, all different colors. I make beads to make earrings and bracelets. I make vases, little jars, little sculpture-like animals, snails, little frogs and wizards. Stuff like that.

Lately, I've been doing a lot of memorial work (making pendants and similar items) from people's ashes.

Q: So you don't make those big glass items that you see glass blowers make on TV?

A: No. Sometimes when people come here they expect that. I advertise on the Berkshire visitors map and they drew the whole building [in which the store is located]. So when people come here they expect it to be this big glass blowing facility.

Q: What made you want to pursue art as a career?

A: I always liked art. It was just this thing that I got drawn to. I love colors. I love things that are beautiful. I love beauty. It's all around us. I'm really attracted to that. I'm not the best artist. I can't draw to save my life.

My handwriting is awful but I went to BCC. I majored in visual art. The teacher just felt bad for me. Everything I made ... I was just so off. I just can't draw. So I never thought that I was going to make it as an artist. What can I possibly do if I'm going to be an artist? I didn't think it was something I'd be able to pursue in life.

Q: But you did it anyway ...

A: When I started making jewelry, I didn't consider myself an artist. But I just kept doing it. The art for me was making something and finding the person who was attracted enough to buy it from me and wear it. That's what makes me still to this day so happy. The older I get and the more I do, it I feels like I'm an artist. When people say you're an artist, it still makes me feel like "am I really?" But you know what? I am.

Q: Do you have an idea about what you're going to do when you start a piece?

A: I get an idea of what I want to make. But I never have an agenda unless it's for an order. I let one piece dictate what the next piece is going to be. If I made something that's pretty cool I might try and do something similar afterward, or I'll do different colors. Everything comes out different. If I do the same colors over and over, its always a different result. But I don't really plan things. Some people will draw an idea that they have, and I can't draw so I don't do that. I just go for it.

Q: What advice would you give someone who wanted to learn glass blowing?

A: I always tell people who say they always wanted to do this to find a facility that you can go through and just try. It's doable. If you're a good artist to begin with you've got an edge on the competition. You might not have much money but you'll never be bored again.

Tony Dobrowolski can be reached at [email protected] or 413-496-6224.

Business writer

Tony Dobrowolski's main focus is on business reporting. He came to The Eagle in 1992 after previously working for newspapers in Connecticut and Montreal. He can be reached at [email protected] or 413-496-6224.