Comment on your statement, ‘Piecing the puzzle of life together through art and creativity.’

 This statement is something I created to describe the feeling I felt when starting to try to make a career as an artist. It’s confusing like a puzzle, but if you stick with it and don’t give up eventually you’ll be able to piece it together.

How do you develop both Glass and custom-made metal stands.  Combining two very different skills?  

Learning how to work with metal was a skill I learned out of necessity to take my art to the next level. A lot of glass art needs to be displayed in certain ways in order to get the best effect. Metal stands are not only strong but when done properly complement the artwork. Most of the time I develop the artwork first and then design the stand around the piece.

Discuss how important it was for you to shown technical skills as a young boy.

Learning how to work with my hands were very important skills to develop. Almost every job and hobby I had required some sort of hands-on skills that took time and practice to develop. A lot of those technical skills required good hand-eye co-ordination, I was able to translate that developed coordination into the work I currently produce.

Comment on how you see art as a continuum to your art skills.

I’ve always enjoyed learning new things and one of the qualities of glass that I enjoy is how many tools and skills are required when producing the art. Because of this I had to learn a large variety of new techniques in order to produce the work I wanted to make. 

Puzzle Pieces. 

Where did the idea come from?

I’ve always liked puzzles and I even made a puzzle piece table in woodshop class in high-school.

So I guess the idea of puzzle pieces as artworks was always in the back of my mind. But when I started to pursue glass, I wanted to produce something that had a lot of versatility. After dwelling on the idea of versatility for a while I eventually thought back to that project in high-school and decided to try making puzzle pieces out of glass.

Can you briefly explain the production of this series?

The pieces are made by taking chunks of glass and melting them into a puzzle piece shaped Mold. Once cooled down I then coldwork the edges so there aren’t any sharp edges. Then I polish the glass and attach custom made mounts.

How large are the pieces?

The smallest is 8 ½” the largest is 13”

How are they sold? (the number of interlocking pieces)

They can be sold individually or in complete sets.

Comment on diverse ways the pieces can be displayed.

All the pieces are designed to connect with one another. You can assemble a collection in any way you want. These pieces can be mounted on the wall or attached to a stand and displayed on a table.

What and why are there restrictions on the size?

No restrictions on size, but the size I produce is small enough to display on a table but big enough to look good on a wall.

Trees of Life.

Comment on the size of these works.

The trees are 2 feet wide and 3 feet tall

How are the best ways of illuminating the pieces?

An overhead spotlight works well since it illuminates the leaves and creates a nice sparkle.

Comment on your pieces, ‘Nautilus’?

These are sculptures that are made in a glass blowing studio. I heat the glass until it is molten and then stretch and shape the glass into the Nautilus form. They’re called Nautili because they share a similar swirl to a nautilus’s shell.

What are you currently working on?

Recently, I have been working on a series I call infinity. This series uses layers of glass that have been cut and cold worked in different ways in order to create infinite patterns of light and color within the piece.

Where is your studio and do you share it with others?

The studio is located in San Diego and I share it with my step-dad and mom.

Contact:

Jacob Barfield

www.jacobbarfield.com

Deborah Blakeley, Melbourne, Australia

Interview by Deborah Blakeley March 2024

Images on this page are all rights reserved by Jacob Barfield