A Front Window Example of Zion’s Work
What is your primary medium?
Blown glass
How long have you been working with glass?
I've been doing glass about 25 years full time now.
What got you Interested in it?
I used to do pottery and I actually wanted to be a pottery teacher. I went to Seattle to take a glass blowing class for six weeks and have been doing it ever since.
What made you set up shop in Garden City?
I just saw the building and it was for rent and I was looking for a more commercial place. I was up in the mountains for about 10 years so it kind of seemed like a good location.
What was it like doing glass in the mountains?
Oh, it was great. It was perfect conditions. In winter it was nice. Big bay doors opened up so it was kind of like being outside in the winter. And having lots of snow. But it wasn’t quite as hot.
What kind of glass do you use?
So what I use comes in little pellets that have already been melted once and so I put that in the furnace and it gets up to about 2,100 degrees and melts overnight. The furnace never shuts off. It's always over 2,000 degrees. It goes for a year or so at a time before you shut it off and fix whatever you need to fix in it. So yeah, it's a lot of fuel. I'm electric on the furnace and then the other ovens we do are gas. I use a lot of electricity.
Is it natural gas or propane?
It's natural gas. When I was in Robie Creek, up in the mountains for about 10 years, we were running everything on propane. We were doing about 1,000 gallons a month, which is not cheap. The electricity is a lot more efficient now and that's why I converted the furnace to electric. So it's a little better, but yeah, it's a lot of fuel of some sort.
A beautiful underwater scene made of glass
Where do you get your inspiration?
I get my inspiration pretty much either from previous pieces or just stuff that I want to make. Pretty much anywhere I can. Just the desire to make something, to make new things. Anywhere.
What helps you wake up in the morning and decide to come make something?
What inspires me, I guess, to get up is to get my orders done so then I can make something that's not an order. Something that I want to make, it doesn't happen that often, but it does happen.
Do you have a set newbie project?
I keep it pretty open. You can do bowls, vases, paperweights, anything like that if you want to. And yeah, I'll help them out as much as they want.
How often do you do classes?
We do them pretty much any day Monday through Saturday.
Zion helping a student shape their project
What is it like working with super hot material?
It's pretty fun most of the time. Except that summertime is a little rough on the conditions. It's kind of like doing physical labor in a sauna, not always fun.
Are there special precautions?
A little, Yeah. You don't want to touch anything that's too hot, but after you work with it for a while you get pretty used to it, so it seems pretty safe after a while. You just have to drink a lot of water. That's the main thing.
What inspired you to teach?
Pretty much just the interest in it. Everybody wants to learn about it. Everybody's fascinated by it. I enjoy the teaching aspect of it and showing people something they've never seen before. It feels good to show them. I had an 85 year old lady cry in here the other day because she was so happy about finally doing it. There's not a not a lot of things that you can show an 85 year old person that makes that big of a difference to them. So it feels pretty good.
What's it like having a storefront to showcase your work?
Oh, it's nice. It's nice to actually have enough space. My last studio had a little tiny gallery space. I couldn't show everything. So now I'm almost getting enough stuff to fill up my little gallery here. So yeah, it's been nice.
Why do you think art is worthwhile?
Well, that's a good question. It's very therapeutic for a lot of people when they do glass, but I've always enjoyed creating things and making things to show people and hopefully it might make them feel better when they see it or feel good about it, you know, enjoy it.
Do you have a favorite piece?
Not necessarily. I've done a few big chandelier things that are kind of fun and big. One dragon that was pretty fun. But pretty much anything that's not a doorknob or a white light shade. That's what I do 90% of my time is make doorknobs and light shades. So anything that's not an order is my favorite thing I've ever made.
A chandelier in Zion’s Garden City gallery
How long does it take to make your pieces?
Most things take anywhere from half an hour to, you can spend several hours. You could do a whole day of prep work and make the piece and then lose it all in a fraction of a second.
How often does that happen?
It doesn't happen that often. When you're learning it happens quite often, you're probably breaking half the stuff you're making at least. After 20 years or so most stuff comes out pretty close. It definitely doesn't always work out.
Do you like bigger scale or smaller scale work?
I like making big stuff, it’s fun, but it does take a toll on your body and whatnot. So I sometimes have to scale it back just to save my hands.
Are there any tools you particularly enjoy using?
Probably the most enjoyable tool is just a piece of wet newspaper that you can use and just form. It is actually pretty much like touching the glass with it. So that's one that is more enjoyable, but sometimes you can burn yourself.
Zion working a ball of molten glass before it becomes a tree
Are newspapers becoming harder to find?
Um, sorta yeah. I have a couple people that bring in their newspapers. The Wall Street Journal is the best. Not as much color in there so it burns better.
Do you think art is something you'll ever quit?
Nope, probably not. I'm all in at this point. And there's so many things that I want to make that I haven't made yet that I’ve got to start getting to it.