ROBERT STEWART
ARTIST STATEMENT
I have been a full-time glass artist for over 30 years. My passion has
always been with the cold glass process of grinding, polishing, and
engraving. When I began my career, my fascination was that of the
Egyptian craftsmen who worked for the Pharaohs. My vision was to
make pieces that were worthy of being presented to, and collected by, the
leaders of our modern day society. Thirty years later, my resume is filled
with just that. I took my own ideas, combined them with the teachings of
fifth generation master glass workers and a master artist, and created
pieces that became renown around the world.
I try to combine what I know from the masters, along with the unique
direction I took with the craft, and continue with several aspects of my
career.
I want to continue with the preservation of the equipment that was handed
down to me from generations of more than a century ago. Most of this
equipment was melted down during the wars for use of the metal, and the
rest were often stored, discarded, or the complete set was split up for other
uses.
I will continue to document the process of grinding, polishing, and
engraving glass as it was passed from father to son for over 100 years. I
want to combine the ‘secret’ family techniques that I have
preserved, along with the unique processes I developed along the way.
My documentary will be the most interesting way of documenting the
process, the equipment, my life, and the lives of those masters that were
such an important part of the history of craft in America.
Education is an important part of my work. I will continue to educate the
public and the arts community. I use my lectures to motivate people to
use creative behavior to do something great with their talent. I share my
own personal motivation of coming from a modest background, to dancing
in the White House.
My new vision, thirty years later, is to take some of my 125 ideas and
make them full size—big enough to walk through…I want people to be
able to see my work from the inside out.
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