Today we’d like to introduce you to Dante Germain.
Hi Dante, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Working with sculpture and design has always been a huge part of my life. I began working with metal and wood at an early age. Growing up in a family of practicing craftsman inspired me to pursue a career that included creativity and hands-on work. My Glass blowing journey began in 2014 at the University of Wisconsin River Falls and it did not take long to fall in love with the material. The process was so mesmerizing, unforgiving, fragile but rewarding all at the same time.
After several semesters at the university my professor Eoin Breadon helped me land a three-month summer job at the world-renowned Corning Museum of Glass in Corning New York. Even though my job was only helping customers make their own Christmas ornaments and glass flowers, I was overwhelmed with excitement and nerves. After submerging myself in an environment full of practicing glass artists from all over the world, I was inspired and convinced to pursue a career as a glass artist.
Ever since that point, my objective was to gain as much professional experience as possible. One thing that separates glass blowing from other mediums is the fact that it takes years or decades to become efficient at it. There are so many factors during the process such as temperature and timing that must be mastered for the piece to survive.
Soon after graduation in 2017, I traveled to countries such as England, Belgium, Denmark, and Italy to observe and apprentice under established artists. Shortly after my stay in Europe, I began teaching classes at a hot shop named Circle 6 Studios in Phoenix Arizona. During the scorching desert summers when it was too hot to blow glass, I would take off to Connecticut to teach glass blowing at Bucks Rock Performing and Creative Arts Camp. After several years of traveling in search for experience, I finally started to notice my skill level improve.
While working at Circle 6 Studios I realized that I was in a unique situation. The owner John Longo and Studio Manager Jason Chakravarty wanted us to be artists. They didn’t want glass blowers working there to just clock in, teach classes, then clock out every day. They wanted people that are passionate about glass and that are willing to push their own career and body of work.
I spent about two years in Phoenix developing my products and art. In March of 2020 when the world was interrupted by Covid19, we could no longer teach classes at Circle 6 Studios, so I moved back home to Somerset Wisconsin. Within a week or two I was contacted by Michael Boyd and David Royce, owners of Bicycle Glass Co located in Fridley Minnesota. They hired me to make their handblown lighting pendants made from recycled glass. Learning to blow recycled glass was very difficult compared to art glass. It taught me to work faster and hotter because it cools off so rapidly. I was very grateful to continue to hone my skills during the pandemic.
As soon as businesses opened back up, I began renting out studio space at FOCI Minnesota Center for Glass Arts in South Minneapolis and Vandalia Glassworks in South St. Paul. And that leaves me where I am at today.
I am currently halfway through an artist residency at FOCI where I am experimenting and developing new work associated with water quality issues. Simultaneously, I am making glass products such as glassware, vases, and sculptural designs for my business Dante Germain Glass. It has been an exciting journey of trial and error, failure and success, all driven for the love of the craft.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Overall, my journey as a glass artist has been very enjoyable and challenging. However, one of the biggest struggles for me and I believe most glass artists was maintaining motivation and confidence while trying to learn such a challenging and unforgiving craft. Glass is so fragile to begin with but when you bring thousands of degrees into the equation, it becomes extremely fragile.
Glass does not like temperature change! It takes most people a couple of years just to learn how to complete over 50% of their pieces without the glass cracking or smashing on the floor.
Even though the early years of my glass career were the most frustrating, the challenge of the craft is also what kept me going.
To me, the most exciting part about this art form is that I will never master it. I will only improve until the end of my career.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Overall, my work reflects a simple, clean, and organic aesthetic. My first design approach began with thin hair like lines that move organically through the vase. Glass is a perfect material in its molten state to twist and move line work into the piece however I wish to do so. In a way, the glass works like a sculptural canvas.
My most recent art stems back to my college days. I was assigned a project that significantly changed and shaped my body of work. During my second semester of Studio Photography, Brett Kallusky told his class that we had to interview a scientific researcher and create a series of photographs based off an idea. I reached out to a friend of mine Jonathan Alexander who was doing research at the University of Minnesota for Soil Science. Jonathan was focusing on problems associated with water quality due to intensive agriculture and tile drainage here in the Midwest. After interviewing Jon, I was alarmed but also fascinated at the severity of these issues and how little we as a community know or care about our most vital resource.
Later on, I began to explore the ways that I could express these issues using glass. Over time I discovered that glass is a beautiful medium to represent water almost as if it is capturing a moment in time like a sculptural photograph. As my glass career continued after college, I switched my focus to a more marketable and modern design approach. I concentrated on creating items that are sculptural and functional. I truly love making this line of work, but recently I have been revisiting and challenging past ideas that originated from that interview with Jon.
While jumping back into this body of work I have been creating sculptures that resemble water flowing out of steel piping. I am drawn to the contrast of industrial materials such as metal or concrete along with glass represented as water.
After plunging back into these former ideas, I have been creating a line of glassware, decanters and vases shaped from rocks collected from local and iconic bodies of water. My goal with this series is to create a line of functional glassware that will be marketable for a broader audience. The idea is for people to drink, hold, interact but most of all to think about their relationship and experiences with their favorite river or body of water.
Once I collect the rocks from the lake or river, I blow the molten glass into the rocks at about 2000 Degrees Fahrenheit. The aesthetic is simple and clean, emphasizing the beautiful organic features shaped only by nature.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
I absolutely love working and collaborating with other artists, designers, and creative thinkers. My business is young, and I am always looking for new galleries and other forms of representation. I am always open to collaboration, support, and helping other emerging artists and craftspeople. Anyone is welcome to contact me through my website at dantegermain.com!
Contact Info:
- Email: d.germain.glass@gmail.com
- Website: dantegermain.com
- Instagram: @dantegermain
Image Credits
Mackenzie Serwa
Rachel Francescon
Lynn Bierbaum
Marlena Solecka
