"There is one cardinal rule, assume everything is hot."
—Paul Downey, Glassblower
Clad in worn jeans, a Red Sox T-shirt and sunglasses, Paul Downey appears dressed for Fenway Park, rather than an afternoon of exquisite art. Appearances deceive as exemplified by Downey. The casually clad craftsman recently reinvigorated his glass blowing work by opening a new Hailey studio where he creates elegant pieces.
Downey's venture follows a long trodden path.
"Glass has been around for 4,000 years. People have been blowing glass for the last 3,000 years. The equipment is more high tech, but the process hasn't changed in 3,000 years," Downey remarked.
Downey's path to the artistic medium began in college. Driven by a desire to pursue education in an unfamiliar region of the United States, the former Massachusetts resident chose to attend the College of Idaho (now Albertson College) in Caldwell.
"I had never been to this part of the country before," Downey explained.
He first dabbled in glass blowing as an art major at the college in 1981.
"I have been at it ever since," Downey said.
During the pursuit of his art, Downey worked for accomplished glass blower Craig Zweifel for 15 years. The Zweifel's maintained a studio in the East Fork area until November of 2003, when the couple closed the studio and moved to Oregon. The closure of the studio compelled Downey to pursue his craft independently.
"It was time to go into business for myself," Downey explained.
Venturing on his own, Downey searched for a studio.
"The hardest part was trying to find some suitable space," he said.
Downey found a studio that fits his needs in Hailey. The sparse space contrasts with the intricate work Downey creates. His creations include a statuesque vase embedded with swirling colored glass and wrapped in ribbons of white glass. The white glass ribbons appear to be a casual trademark shared amongst his work.
In comparison to his detailed art, the modest studio houses little more than necessity. The walls of the studio are bare other than a few clippings of the Red Sox's World Series victory. Few tools scatter the space considering the complexity of the work.
The studio houses two immense furnaces, the glory hole and the great white hope. Each electric furnace maintains a temperature close to 2,000-degrees Fahrenheit.
"There is one cardinal rule, assume everything is hot," Downey said.
Downey's cautionary words become apparent as the glass blowing process begins. Downey begins by breaking cylindrical glass color rods into manageable pieces. The shards are placed into the furnace. Under the intense heat conditions, the glass takes on a molten consistency that moves similar to taffy. The molten glass shares little else with the candy's innocence.
Downey reaches in the furnace for the taffy-like mass with a six-foot rod. Glass blowers call the rod a blowpipe. The name refers to the hollow structure that enables artists to blow through the tube and shape the glass resting at the end. The rod is made of stainless steel, which is a poor conductor of heat and allows Downey to maneuver the tool with his bare hands throughout the process.
"I have done (glass blowing) long enough that I respect the medium. I know what to do and what not to do," he remarked.
With a glass mass adhered to the blowpipe, Downey moves to the glory hole. He operates primarily from this furnace precisely rotating the rod at the center of the heat. The rotations produce an even cylindrical mass resting at the end of the rod. Downey monitors the temperature of the glass by controlling the distance of the piece from the flame.
With a casual yet calculated manner, Downey maneuvers the rod from the furnace to a work area where he shapes the glass using a variety of tools. His rapid selection of tools indicates a premeditated selection from the assortment of gadgets resting in water. The glass blowing venture does not allow for any delayed decisions.
Often he chooses to work with a palm size folded newspaper that chars on contact.
As Downey moves between the furnace and the workbench, he pauses to add additional glass shards to the mass. The shards fuse to bring varying color elements to the final piece.
After Downey molds the desired shape of the piece he quickly breaths into the blowpipe. Reacting to the quick puffs of air, the glass expands like a balloon. Downey returns the mass to the furnace and continues rotating the piece to the perfected shape. Using tongs he shapes a neck and mouth into the vase and flattens a base.
Throughout the process the mass changes color according to the temperature. At its hottest the mass becomes clear, changing color as it cools to a glowing red. As the process ends the mass returns to a deep purple.
Nearing the final phase of production, Downey hangs the rod from a hook.
"This is the fun part, when temperature matters. If it's too hot the glass won't come off. If it's too cold it falls off," Downey said.
Downey files the vase from the blowpipe and adheres a temporary piece of heated glass to transport the vase. With three taps the vase releases from the rod into a heated box. Over eight to ten hours the temperature of the box slowly cools off, allowing the glass temperature to adjust as well.
The vase joins Downey's collection represented by Roland Art Glass Gallery in Ketchum and shown in various art shows.
Paul Downey blows forcefully to complete the final touches to a vase created through the delicate and demanding art of glass blowing. Photo by Willy Cook
