(Image: "Chain Link" by David Jacobson)

Born and raised in New York, David Jacobson graduated from the University of Minnesota with a BA in Studio Art, focusing on glass. As a glass artist, David has studied with Lino Tagliapietra, Elio Quarisa, Jiri Harcuba, Ruth King, Catherine Gray, Scott Chaseling and Kirstie Rea. In 2003, Jacobson moved from New York to midcoast Maine where he creates his fused and slumped work at his home studio, and uses a Portland studio for his blown glass work. With each new piece, he feels more amazed at how beautiful and inspiring glass can be, and how lucky he is to be doing what he loves.

When did you first realize that you were going to be an artist and when did you first start making art?
I first realized I was going to be an artist when I started drawing on the walls of our house at about age two. My parents weren’t pleased, but I thought the drawings were beautiful. I loved the loose line quality, particularly with the thick crayon. I was always drawing since I can remember. And I focused on cartoons from an early age, copying Mad magazine and comic books. I became a professional cartoonist before I started glass. I still do cartoons today for various publications. Glass blowing I started in college in 1975.

Who or what inspires you?
Tough question. It is easy to say everything around me inspires me, but more specifically for glass, I would say nature, textiles, Italian glass and Italian glass master Lino Tagliapietra. I also find it inspiring going to galleries and museums.

(Image: Blue Bud Vase by David Jacobson)

Is (was) anyone else in your family in the arts?
Quite a few people in my family are artists, and just plain creative. My mother is an artist. She draws beautifully, and is also an excellent sculptor. I have two cousins who are artists. An uncle who was an interior designer, and another uncle who was completely self-taught and just plain creative. He would write letters to my brother and myself when we were kids in pictograms. We’d spend hours trying to figure them out. A great deal of fun.

Are you self-trained or did you go to art school?
I went to the University of Minnesota to study glass blowing. It’s a tough art form to just build your own studio and teach yourself, though I’m sure there are people who have done that. Cartooning was basically self-taught, submitting to publications on my own, though I did take one class about 25 years ago.

Is the process of creating your art long or short?
Hmmm. I sketch out what I want to make in glass first, then I get into the studio and make it right then and there. So I’d say the thinking and sketching is ongoing, but the making of each piece is done relatively quickly.

Tell us something about your work.
For my glass, I do two different things: glass blowing and fusing/slumping of glass. I enjoy glass blowing more. I enjoy the process, working with someone else, the heat, the movement, the intensity of needing to be in the moment when I’m making something out of hot glass. Color and surface texture are important to me. I want my glass to be as enjoyable to hold, as it is to view.

("Eat" by David Jacobson)

Do you have a subject matter that defines you as an artist?
No, I can’t say that I’m locked into a subject.

How do you stay motivated?
I really have no choice but to stay motivated. All I want to do is make stuff, and my biggest hurdle is finding the time.

What have you been working on lately? Are you experimenting with anything new?
I’ve been experimenting with some lighting fixtures with my slumped work. I’m looking forward to that. I’m playing with the opacity and transparency of the glass.

Has your medium changed from when you first became an artist?
No. I started with cartoons and glass, and I’m staying with them. I love them both. Early on though I did try ceramics. It was fun, but not as satisfying as glass.

What advice would you give to an artist just starting out?
Keep working and don’t get discouraged. Also, get involved with a community of some kind be it a crafts association or a group of other artists who meet regularly. This helps to break the isolation of working and you get to network and find out what else is going on in the art world.

What kind of comment do you despise the most when overheard at one of your openings?
“I don’t like what he’s making.”

(Image:"Red Red" by David Jacobson)

What kind of comment pleases you the most when overheard at one of your openings?
“I’ll take two of each.”

How have you handled the business side of being an artist?
Well, now there’s a huge question, right? I’m not a businessman. It’s a cliché to say that artists are not good business people. I want to be and need to be a good businessman. Just recently I have embraced it more. I’m taking a marketing class right now and it’s been great. I am getting more knowledgeable about social media and it is helping with my sales. The amount of time the business end requires can be overwhelming, but I’m finding it is necessary. The person I’m taking the class with suggested I work on Twitter two hours a day initially for the best results. Plus Facebook and my blog. Not really on my list of things I want to do, but again, I am seeing results. I’d much rather just make stuff.

Do you have any outside interests other than art?
I love tennis and running. I would have loved to have been a professional tennis player, but my backhand wouldn’t allow it.

Are you disciplined about your creative process (in other words, do you treat the process like a job, where you keep particular hours in the studio), or are you more spontaneous?
I go more for the discipline side, treating it like a job. It gives me a rhythm and structure. I need and enjoy that.

(Image: "Loon 9" by David Jacobson)

How would your life change if you were no longer allowed to create art?
I think I’d explode.

What's the best part of being a full time, working artist?
Right now I’m not a full-time glass artist, but am furiously working toward that.

Do you have any upcoming shows?
I was just invited by Suzette McAvoy at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockland to exhibit an installation piece next season that I just collaborated on for the Belfast Poetry Festival. I am really looking forward to that.

Where can we find your work?
You can find my work at CRAFT Gallery in Rockland, Aarhus Gallery in Belfast, Asticou Connection Gallery in Bar Harbor, on my Etsy store (www.davidjacobsonglass.etsy.com), and on my website.

- Brenda Bonneville, editor

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