- Narrator: Clay is among the oldest traditional art forms.
Glass has been around nearly as long,
but for centuries was produced almost exclusively in factories.
Harvey Littleton changed all that in 1962
with the creation of the studio furnace.
The studio glass movement was born,
and it paved the way for a new generation
of glass artists and one very innovative school.
- Pilchuck came about back in 1971.
We built two furnaces and two annealing ovens,
and kind of a tent affair that went over it, in 16 days.
And we also each had to build our own shelter
and it was raining a lot.
Everybody had some kind of little camp they had staked out,
but everybody loved doing it.
I thought we'd do it for one summer,
and everything just went just right,
and some patrons, the Haubergs,
gave us some money to keep it going.
- Actually, one interesting part about Pilchuck
is that they're not teachers.
They're people that do something well.
People are interacting all the time
and learning from each other.
The people that are accomplished learn
from the people that want to be accomplished and vice versa.
- Pilchuck played an important role for all of our careers.
I mean, especially those that are here today,
we started out there very early on.
We're not as involved now,
but there's another generation is.
- Jamex De La Torre: We usually do sketches
in order to communicate between us
and with the team of people who are helping us,
and also to decipher how we're gonna construct this,
what comes first.
Like, you know, if we're gonna make a face,
the nose comes first.
What are the layers of the piece.
- Einar De La Torre: So, one thing
that I see a lot of people do that I've never understood...
- Really, one of the most enjoyable things
about the medium in particular is that it is a social event,
because most glass people utilize people helping you
in all different aspects of the production of a piece.
And in one way or another, they're adding to this piece.
- Woman: Any questions, you guys?
[percussive music]
- Jamex: It's fascinating when the dance
between the people to produce this thing goes along
and people are actually contributing
and they feel free to do so.
- Keep it turning, Jimmy; keep it turning.
Okay, now blow.
Glass students, sometimes they're fearless
because they haven't been taught how to blow glass,
and therefore they grab it and take it places,
and it's fascinating to see somebody
who just doesn't, you know, that won't be stopped.
- Ready?
[groovy rock music]
- Einar: Things moving around good?
Nice and hot?
Hotter, actually.
I didn't go in this glory hole.
For a second go in there, heat it up some more.
- In the hole? - Einar: Yeah, go ahead.
'Til you can't stand it, then bring it.
That's when it's perfect.
When you can't take it.
- Woman: All right, all right, come on out.
Nice. - Straight up and down.
- Woman: Bring it up to 'im.
- You're gonna hold it right there in the air.
Just so.
- Nice.
Way to go, Christina.
Woo-hoo!
- One thing that I think was just amazing
is to go on a hillside for two weeks
in such a beautiful place.
It's just wonderful to sort of immerse yourself
and not think about anything else but the work you're doing.
- Can you just, like, hold it?
[bell tinkling]
- There's some people that came to Pilchuck
to be part of the class in the session,
couple more visiting artists,
and that's Einar and Jamex De La Torre.
[group applauding]
They're gonna be involved...
- Einar: It's a little microcosm that happens here.
Sometimes they call it the Pilchuck bubble.
It's not uncommon to hear
that this place has changed somebody's life.
We usually like to take over a palette...
- I've known Einar and Jamex De La Torre for many years.
I mean, I was excited that they were here
because my class in particular
was, you know, more about symbolism and iconography
and that type of thing.
They were a perfect fit for, you know,
giving a talk to my class and inspiring them.
We had some ideas about the Native American influence
and Mexican culture.
I mean, there's kind of--
- Jamex: Search for identity is a great deal
of part of our work.
It has to do with our Catholic background,
and also our background as Mexicans.
We don't look for the simplification
of only one image.
We want layers.
We want more.
Think of a piece of rock and then just go up the sides.
That's how I would think of it. - Yeah.
'Cause this is, like, the Mexican wrestler mask.
- Preston: We have very common backgrounds, you know,
the pre-Columbian Aztec and Mayan types of works,
but look remarkably like Northwest Coast.
- Let me see something real quick.
I'm gonna put a beak on it still,
so still gonna be bigger than this.
- Preston: The head that they created, I would relate that
to sort of a Northwest Coast transformation mask,
where the beak of the eagle would open up
and then there's a face inside.
- Einar: Slice of pizza.
You could hook it around; yeah.
- Jamex: I think one of the hardest things
for an artist to do with collaborating
is just basically letting go,
because if you're truly collaborating,
you have to completely let go.
And the other person has to be able to do
whatever they see fit.
- Get Marcus over here.
- Einar: I think what glass has that is I think somewhat unique
is that there's a little bit of performance art going on
because it's a stage out there.
You're on the hot seat.
You can't just stop and say, "Well, let me see.
Let me think about it."
There's a show-must-go-on kind of attitude,
'cause the furnaces are hot.
[torch blows]
- Yeah; come on over. - Let's do it.
One, two, and bingo.
- Okay, come on out.
- Do you want me to get the bunny at all?
Okay, go ahead.
- You want me to cook you anything?
- Turn it over. - You all right?
- Okay, push.
- Preston: Native culture have a sort of
defining historical connection to beads and glass.
So what we're doing today,
working with sculpture and hot glass,
it's sort of an extension of that.
[torch blows]
- Dale: The amazing thing about the glass community in general
is that it is very much about the spirit of cooperation.
I think that that energy of teamwork actually
is transferred into the piece.
[chiming music]