How long have you been working with glass?

I officially got started in the summer of 1997 but I was able to play around a little back in 1995 when I was 17 albeit with a very crude set up.

Where did your interest in working with glass begin?

When I was 17, I worked (dishwashing) with a guy who was learning to blow glass by himself.  I got to see the things he was making and I couldn't believe it.  I was able to go over to his shop, talk to him about glass, and get little scraps and such for free.  I would then stay up in my bedroom at night with a tray full of vermiculite, a little propane torch - a bernzomatic I believe it's called - and melt little globs and blow little bubbles while trying to not wake my parents up - they still don't know I was blowing glass on their carpet. :-)

How long have you been making marbles?

I made a few back in the day but nothing more than ¾".  I started making "real" marbles about 1.5 years ago, slowly at first- a few here and there.  But as time is going on I'm making more and having more fun with them.

What were you making prior to marbles?

I initially started through learning how to make glass pipes.  I made other things such as pendants, jars, and occasional marbles but my main outlet were art glass pipes until Operation Pipe Dreams was implemented.

Who is Ezra Zygmuntowicz?

Ezra isn't doing as much glass these days as he used to- but back when I met him he was one of the most amazing glass pipe makers out there.  He brought about a host of complex techniques in boro work that were not being done anywhere at the time; he was always 10 steps ahead of everyone else and always seemingly effortlessly.

How did you meet Ezra and what role did he play in your early interest in glass?

I met Ezra through my roommate in Seattle after I moved there to go to school.  He happened to be looking for apprentices so at some point he came over to my apartment and asked my roommate and I, "So, you guys wanna learn how to blow glass or what?"  I was so excited- he provided almost everything and got me started right away.   At the time he was bringing over his latest creation almost every day and it seemed like he came up with something totally new every time I saw him so I was amazed I was going to get to learn from him.

It seems that your home state of Washington has quite a few glass artisans located there, do you have any thoughts on why so many folks are attracted to your neck of the woods?

I'm not sure why that is but I like having that community feeling- the more interaction there is among us, the more we all advance.

What do you do when you're not working?

Usually I try to stay busy but one of my favorite things to do is get out and do some hiking up in the mountains and get away from everything.  I spend a good amount of time making music on my bass, as well as making electronic music.  I do spend a little time looking through a telescope - and would like one day to get into astrophotography.

Will you be at any shows or exhibits displaying your work in the near future?                                                                                        

No, nothing coming up.

Do you have a web site, or one in the works, that folks can go to learn more about what you do?

 I am currently working on learning all about what needs to go into a website so I am a little ways off but I hope to get it up within the next year. I plan to sell all different forms; solid and hollow.

Where can people go to view and purchase your wares?

I have my work on  http://www.glassartists.org/Gal1657_Kevin_Nail.asp and http://www.glasspipes.org/Gal2133_Kevins_Gallery.asp but to be clear, I do not sell pipes anymore.

Is there any particular theme or inspiration to your work?

My main theme if any, would be gold and silver fuming applications in both outside as well as inside out patterning.  This was what was my favorite attribute to Ezra's work.

What can you tell us about "fuming"?

Well the process is somewhat simple, but refining your application so that you get what you want, and where you want it, is where there is a test of skill.  Essentially a small snip of gold or silver (they are both done but separately) is put into a small flame which causes the metal to boil and smoke, then as this is happening, the glass that is to be colored is put in the path of the smoke and the metal deposits back onto the surface. After it is on the glass, the flame from the torch is applied to achieve desired affects i.e. different colors.

How long has "fuming" been used in glass working?

It wasn't really until Bob Snodgrass came up with fuming back in the 70's sometime that it had ever been done before.  He tried every metal after that I'm sure- I can't imagine how exciting that discovery was. It is still hard for me to believe that you can get every color out of the rainbow just from the smoke from two metals.

Are you making marbles with a torch or a furnace?

I use a 50 mm Herbert Arnold torch.

Do you begin a project with a specific design in mind, or more of a free style approach?

It depends on what I'm making-  some pieces are a set designs so I do them the same every time and fully visualize the process beforehand.  But there are times when all I know is I want to make a hollow vessel/ form of some sort- and whatever else happens, happens.

Your marbles appear to have an almost "deep sea" look to them with translucent colors and designs, without revealing any secrets, what do you do out of the norm to achieve this quality?

It's all about the fuming- it has such a natural appearance due to the nature of the application.  It isn't like drawing a line or putting a dot in a certain place- it's a stream of smoke that is varying in density as it's passing your piece and depending on the temp of your piece, more or less fume will stick more or less easily; so it's full of variety and abstraction which is somewhat inherent in nature.

What are your plans for the future relating to your work?

I really want to develop and pursue more hollow forms.  I have yet to seriously apply some of the more difficult and complex techniques from the pipe world to the contemporary glass art world, and I am looking forward to doing so. But at the same time, I am just beginning to have fun with marbles so I will be doing those as well.

Are there any particular artists whose work you admire or inspires you?

In the boro world there are simply to many to name- but I will say the inspiration Ezra provided will last a lifetime.   In the soft glass world, I'd have to say William Morris.  I saw one of his books hanging around the shop for about a year before I really understood that I was looking at glass- I couldn't believe it wasn't stone and ceramic and whatever else; that amazed me and still does.

What suggestions or words of advice can you offer the "newbie" just starting out woking with glass?

Be safe- I've had a lot of close calls that now I know were plain ignorance bordering stupidity so learn what you need to be safe.  Other than that- whatever glass technique or idea you have that makes you nervous because you might "fail" or otherwise screw up, do that.

Thank you Kevin for taking the time to answer some questions and sharing a bit about yourself. Your work is really out of this world and we're looking forward to your future projects. Folks, you can check out more of Kevin's work at GlassArtists.org, on eBay under his username of stresslessglassartco, and hopefully in the very near future on his web site. Thanks again Kevin!