Heart Of Glass- Meet Joe Grant

I have the privilege of knowing some very talented people and can’t wait to share their stories with you. Joe Grant is a wonderful man, talented artist, and all around good time friend (and a pretty awesome drummer) . I got the opportunity to visit him and his lovely wife Tracy, also an amazing artist and lifelong friend. Our meeting took place over a long summer weekend at their lakefront home in Nebo, North Carolina. Not bad work , if you can get it.

This is their beautiful pink house on Lake James.

How’s this for an inspiring view?

Joe and me on the lake rocking a canoe with color maven Kimberlin behind the lens

Joe was born among the cornfields of Illinois where he received his BFA in Champaign. After school Joe headed east to New Haven, CT and Providence, RI (where he met our amazing lady friend Tracy) continuing to work and exhibit. He earned his MFA at VCU in Richmond, Va by 2006. Love landed him near the Blue Ridge Mountains, with his wife Tracy (a textile designer working near the furniture markets …..more on her to come)

Joe and his bride Tracy heading to the dock

Joe’s imaginative work has garnered him numerous awards including assistantships at Pilchuck and Haystack, the Creative Glass Center of America Fellowship and most recently a NC Arts Council Fellowship. Check out the websites of these amazing art schools :

www.haystack-mtn.org; www.pilchuck.com

Joe in the studio doing his thang.

This is our interview , after seeing some of his various collections:

AC: I totally love the collections and the pictures you took. They look like an advertisement from a 60s magazine.

This is the orange dot collection…one of my faves !

JG: Thanks. I really like the way the colors turned out. the photos turned out really nice and I like the arrangement of the pieces.

AC: Because your colors look vintage, I wonder what inspires each collection , as far as a palette.

JG: Living on the lake surrounded by the plants and shoreline, directly influence my choices. Along with the bright colors of available fruits and vegetables in my garden.

AC: Are you more inspired living in the country, in a natural setting ?

Intense colors of the lake at sunset.

JG: MY surroundings definitely influence color choice, but I’m really seduced by the closeness and insomnia of cities.  Cities have infinite color palettes – changing with each block. To me the life and energy of the city inspire me just as much as a natural setting.

AC: I can also guess that living with a textile designer has some influence on your choices , as well.

JG: Of course. Tracy is constantly designing and her keen understanding of color, especially since she is creating for future seasons, is an integral part of my experience and ultimately, my collections.

AC: One of my favorite collections is the “Buttah” collection with beautiful creamy yellows, whites and stripes. In glass blowing, how do you control or manipulate the colors to get them so dreamy?

This is the Buttah collection …love the stripes and candy colors. This makes me think of English toffee or custard.

JG: It’s all about experimenting with colors and process. As the material is blown the original color stretches.A deep chocolate color may become a caramel or tobacco color as it expands. Sometimes layering several colors helps me achieve a great color. Putting a white glass under yellow eases the bite of yellow, allowing the buttery quality to appear.

AC: What makes some pieces have an opaque quality while others are clear -as glass ?

JG: Its transparency is controlled when it’s molten and being blown out. This is when you can manipulate the intensity of color , appearing in its solid, cool finished state.

AC: This seems really evident  in two of your blue collections. One is creamy and opaque while the other is completely transparent. I don’t know which one I love more.

The Peacock collection has creamy whites and creams layered onto deep azure color.

These beautiful vases look like they’re part of the cloudy sky.

During our  interview , Joe takes Kim and me to  his home studio to see more pieces. This is like a candy shop…colorful art in every color.

Not only do I love the shapes of these bulbous vases, but the amoeba shaped color orbs are so lovely – no need for flowers.

Pictured are some ornaments that Joe started making as gifts for his family and friends, all desperate for his work. It’s now become a tradition and here are some past year offerings . Color maven Kim Brown grouped them into his orange serving bowl and in a clear glass vase to show an easy display option. The out of this world clear spiky glass object is just one of our faves…very modern and would look amazing grouped (always in odd numbers, in our opinion) on any surface.

These perfect sized glasses look like thumbprints (blue) and spilled red wine (red). Sets of these glasses are a best seller- you can even request specific colors, as I did for a recent wedding gift.

AC: As I look around the studio I see an amazing group of prints and several sculptures, not of glass. Is glass your favorite medium, as an artist ?

JG: I’ve studied glass for over 10 years, but it can’t fulfill all my artistic desires. So I work in wood, metal for sculpture and also paint.

AC: You’re an absolute renaissance man Joe ! And may I say a very respectable drummer.

Joe’s work is available directly from the artist himself at groejant@yahoo.com.

Be sure to check out our new series of interviews with artists. Many well known and emerging artists will be featured and inspire you .