In anticipation of the monthly Hot Glass Hangout held here at UrbanGlass, we interviewed Emily Doerflein who will be performing this month’s glassblowing demonstration. Emily is a talented glassblower who graduated from the Tyler School of Art and Architecture and is one of our best Studio Techs!
As interns in UrbanGlass’ Education Department and artists ourselves, we had a wealth of questions about what keeps her motivated, her attitude toward her work, and the impact of an art-focused school. In our conversation, Doerflein was extremely friendly and receptive to us bombarding her with questions and we can’t wait to see what surprises she has planned for this month’s Hot Glass Hangout!
Read our conversation below, and come check out Emily’s demo on Friday, July 26th from 6-8pm at UrbanGlass. Free RSVP here.
The following interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
How do you stay motivated? And how do you keep your passion alive?
That is such a good question. What motivates my passion, and how do I keep it alive? I definitely think that a lot of people here struggle with that.
But for me, I can definitely get really — not bored, per se — but to keep my life interesting, I need to create something. So when I am here at the studio, I try and look at what all of my fellow artists are doing, or [what] students are doing, and I find [it] interesting talking to people. And then I do research on my own for future pieces that I'll make.
I also paint at home. So that's one way that I like to stay creative, and then I'll make that come to life here. Sometimes I have a little rut and I don't create for a while. But then I think taking a break can also really help. And trying different things is also really, really important for me because I can spend two years doing the same thing, and then I don't want to do that anymore.
So I've been trying to do a lot of new things and get out of my comfort zone, and that sparks new ideas for me.
Has art ever felt like a job to you?
Yes. Yes, it has.
But that's where you have to learn the difference between working in art and your art. Because I've worked here for three years and I help make other people's designs most of the time, and I help people succeed in their work.
I try not to put that into my art, if that makes sense. I've talked to a lot of different people here and a lot of people feel that way, where they're like, "I'm in the same routine."
I don't want to be in the same routine. I want to start making my stuff and [also] when I'm at my house and not able to make glass. That's where I will paint or draw, keep sketching, writing down ideas, things like that.
Earlier, you mentioned that your fellow peers help keep you motivated during art.
So what are some specific artists or maybe specific artworks that inspire you?
Oh, that's a great, great question. My good friend, Grace, who works here, rents here and makes their designs here. They are super inspiring with the different work that they do. Because, in my point of view, in New York, there's a lot of functional work, a lot of lighting, a lot of things like cups and bowls, and very functional.
When I get to see other artists trying to create something different, that's where I get interested, and I always try to ask people questions about it.
Sometimes I don't have to talk to everybody, but they come in and make such beautiful and different work that is super inspiring to see. Because I mean, so many people come in and out of the studio and make such different work where you can respect everybody's work at the same time, and still be interested in seeing something different. But that doesn't mean you devalue anybody else's work.
I looked on your website and I saw a bunch of your art. I wanted to know what inspired the specific elements that were present in each of the works. For example, the wavy line that was in the artwork on your website, and the tiny flowers that were present.
What inspired that… honestly, cakes! Really cute cakes.
When I first started designing those little flowers, it was just about to be springtime. So I was going over to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden a good amount of times right before the cherry blossoms, all the flowers there were so beautiful. And one way that I can come up with new ideas is just taking a walk and just really getting my thoughts together, and looking at nature in the area.
I know that there's sometimes not a lot, but I live near Prospect Park, so I'm able to walk around a lot. The Botanical Gardens sparked that, and nature in general and how important it is. And how it can be really easy to be stuck, like not going to the park or not taking a break from the city. Things like that.
You take inspiration from others and the surrounding things so, in what ways do you try to remain original or put your twist on stuff?
Absolutely. Yeah. That's a good one. I was also having a conversation about that with a couple of other people the other day because it's— it's hard to be original. You know, it's kind of like, there's a funny joke about that: Nothing is original. Everything has been done before.
But you know, you never want to take somebody's work and copy and paste it. I really respect technique and the way different artists here use their technique, and learn on the job while I'm working.
Now, it is really hard to not take someone's exact idea. So you have to ask yourself, does this look too close to somebody else? Has anybody done this before? I always like to make sure [I ask myself], do I see anything like this? I don't want to copy somebody's idea. So that's also really hard.
But that's where social media can be super helpful sometimes to look around at what other people are doing. You just want to make sure that you're not doing that exact thing. But also, you know, like small flowers. A lot of people make flowers, but a lot of people make flowers in different ways, right? And they use different types of flowers, and there's sometimes only so many tools that you can use.
So, can you use the tool differently?
Can you twist it differently?
Can you make it a little longer?
Can you change the shape?
Can you change the color?
Color is also a wonderful thing to play around with, but there are also only so many colors. Glass is not like paint, you can't just mix them and make a whole new color. There are only so many being made. So basically, everything has a base of the blueprint, and you put your spin on it.
How do you make connections with other artists and organizations?
Well, I love talking to people. I love meeting new people. That's always been something that I have wanted to focus on in my career as an artist and as an educator and one being educated. I travel a lot, and my partner is also in the glass world. So seeing him — he doesn't live in this country — I get to expand my horizons and meet different glass artists through him and traveling.
And also just reaching out to people online, following people, and asking questions. A great example is this person, Austin Stern, who will teach here in the next few weeks. I have never met him before. He's from the West Coast. And we just started kind of becoming friends through social media, and I asked him to TA class. Now I feel like we're friends and I'm going to be able to meet him.
Or [when] somebody new comes into the studio, I like to say hi. I want to know what they're doing, especially if they're making something different or something that I haven't seen before. Likewise, I'm going to go up and be like, "Hey, what are you working on?" "That looks cool." Like, tell me about it.
But, in any way, if I am traveling, I try to find a studio in the area and just go in and see who's there and see what they're making, and just make connections through that. And also I hope to be that person where if somebody's traveling here, I hope that somebody would reach out to me and be like, "Hey, I'm in New York. What's it like, can I come to UrbanGlass and say hi?" Of course! Like, I've had that a couple of times, and it makes me so happy. So, I just love meeting new people and want everybody to come in here and, like, hang out.
What was your first piece and how old were you when you made it?
I didn't know anything about glass art until I got to college. So I was a sophomore in college. I think I was, like, 19 or 20 years old. And my first piece, I still have in my parents' basement.
I have a little marble, and then I have a teeny tiny little cup, and those are the first things that I ever made, and I'll never throw them out. I like to always look at that marble next to some other stuff that I have made now, and it's just really nice to see. Obviously such a change from a marble to whatever.
But it's rewarding seeing how far you can come and how hard somebody can work to expand their idea of technique, their skills. And I've had a lot of help from a lot of people here.
You mentioned before that you painted at home and stuff. Do you think that has impacted your glass working skills, positively, in a way?
Yes, especially with some stuff that I'm making now because I find that the way that I paint is very realistic, and I am just getting into sculpting realistic: fruit, flowers, leaves, and vines.
So I like that I get to go home and if I have an idea, I can draw it out perfectly of how I want, how I would like it to come out. And then being able to bring it here and have a nice visual helps me a lot with my work.
But during COVID, I painted a lot more, and I would paint flowers, and I would paint fruit. So I think it's hilarious to see that transition from COVID time when I was just, you know, painting while I was sick. So seeing that translate into my work now, I think that's exciting. I never really thought that I was going to be sculpting stuff.
I always thought that I was going to be making more functional objects — very sleek and smooth.
And now I'm trying to get super abstract because I've never gotten to it before.
Have you ever freestyled a piece straight from the dome?
Yes. Yes, I have. And sometimes it works out well and sometimes it does not. But I think that is because I'm such a visual person and I like to have an idea first or draw it first. But sometimes I'll try and, and if it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, then I have the idea that that works, or that it will not work, or that it won't work yet—because maybe I don't have the skills to do it or the knowledge of how to do that.
But that's where I can ask people here who are a lot more skilled than me. I can ask them questions and people are giving with their knowledge, which is extremely, extremely, extremely helpful.
It's always about trial and error. I mean, you can meet some people here [who have] been blowing glass for over 30 years, right? I feel like now just starting to be able to make stuff, and l started eight years ago. Now I'm like, ‘Ok, now I think I can do what I want in my head.’
I think that I can start to do it comfortably now, but it teaches you a lot of patience. Teaches you so, so much patience, which has helped me in honestly everyday life. It was like everybody could still learn, you know.
And everybody has their own pace as well, like I started before COVID. You know, you always have a few intro years, and then I had to pause for a year and a half because of COVID, and then come back and start over.
Would you say that going to a glassmaking school is necessary for an artist to succeed in this industry?
I don't think it's necessary to go to a glass school to be able to continue in a professional setting.
I know people who did not go to school, and they learned on their own, or they found it after college, and now we're working together.
Likewise, I loved going to school because I got to meet so many people. And my professors were so helpful with networking because I was really quiet when I was in college. So, you know, when you're new to something, you want to be able to have somebody to steer you in that direction. I knew that I wanted to stay with glass and some people didn't continue with glass, but that doesn't mean that the education wasn't equally helpful in the art world.
But I do think that my professors were extremely helpful in pushing me in the right direction and reaching out to different people. They introduced me to Urban Glass, which is a great example. I interned here in 2018 while I was still in college. One of my professors invited Liesl Schubel — who used to work here — with another person, Abram, who was our interim executive director. He just moved on, but they both came down to my school. I went to Tyler School of Art and Architecture in Philly. And they came down and did a demo. So I asked Liesl if she needed an intern for the summer, and Liesl said yes. So that's how I got started here.
And then from there, I just kept in contact and kept emailing Urban Glass. ‘Please let me in, let me work here!’ So, in some ways, it was helpful for me, but I have seen for other people that it’s not necessary. It’s not 100% necessary to go to college for glass.
How do you fund all your projects, even with such a busy schedule?
So I am fortunate that as a freelancer, I have many different hats, have different jobs. So, I'm a part-time studio tech here at Urban. We are closed on Mondays for staff workers to come in and make their glass. So that's where I have been extremely grateful to be able to come in on those Mondays and work with another studio mate and make my work. “I'm not sure how I would be able to do it if I didn't have that.” And a lot of people feel that way. All the techs are extremely grateful for that opportunity because it is extremely rare.
On the other end of managing my other time — I work every other day, a lot of people here basically work every day. But we love it. I wouldn't be here if I didn't love it. But yeah, it's hard.
One of those first questions of how you make your creativity work. Not your job. Sometimes it is my job. Like when you come in, you make other people's work and then you go home. You try to create your ideas, and then you have that one day when you get to make your own.
So it's sometimes hard to balance that. But if you ask other people about their work, they're like, ‘Oh I just started doing this new thing!’ and then you can see how excited they get about this new idea that they have questions about colors, questions about different techniques.
So many people are going to ask each other questions because that's what this community is about. It's about supporting everybody and supporting people in their ideas and their successes and so forth because glass is a community, and it's a very small community. You find it gets smaller and smaller. I feel like everybody knows everybody in the entire world. It's pretty wild.
How do you focus on the task at hand? How do you try to be calm and precise?
It takes a lot of practice, but once you find a nice groove and how to use your hands, it gets easier.
The more you practice, the easier it gets, but it is all about practice. Here, you become dexterous. Like I feel a lot stronger. I'm a righty, but I feel a lot stronger with my left hand working here, especially if you're welding, working, doing leads, or doing neon. And you see people are using both hands, and you're like ‘Oh my God, like, how are they even doing that?’
It does take a lot of practice to be able to get comfortable working and using both your hands, and I guess knowing that process, there's always a base. And then there are typically always steps that you have to take. I don't do a lot of flameworking, but I'm going to assume it's kind of the same where everybody kind of starts the same, right?
And then you create, it looks a little bit different, but everybody typically starts the same. You have to gather some glass. Everybody starts small, gets a little bit bigger, and then it changes from there.
How do you stay in sync with your partner while making art with glass?
I like that question a lot. Specifically with glassblowing, the more you work with the same person, you understand exactly what that person needs. So if I'm sitting down and I am physically working with the glass, I am the gaffer and then the person standing is called the assistant.
So the assistant typically will know all of the next steps and what the gaffer will need and the gaffer will set up the assistant so they can also do their job. So we're both bouncing back and forth and we both have different information but it's all going to be the same in the end. Like, we're both trying to get the glass where we both want it to be.
But if you go in there and you watch, sometimes during the day the two people working there won't even talk because they know the steps. So when you work with somebody different, maybe the first hour you're really getting to know each other. You're learning how they move, what they'll need, what the piece will look like in the end and then you'll really understand the process of what it takes to make that specific piece and then, the next hour you don't even need to talk because, you know, you're professionals. That's the job.
Whether you're the gaffer or you're the assistant, they're both equally as important and they both have the same end goal of finishing the piece. But I do find it really, really, really cool to watch people. Like, you could not talk for the entire eight hours and you will know exactly what to do. It's so cool. Or you just chat all day. I mean, I'm chatting all day but we're not chatting about the piece, we're just talking, but we're still making it.
It's all muscle memory in the end.