Chase Hardman, also known as @Hardman_Art_Glass on Instagram, was the special guest in this week's episode. Hardman has really developed his glass blowing skills throughout his career. Hardman started blowing soft glass and is now well versed in both soft glass and borosilicate. He tells us about the challenges he faced early on in his career. One of my favorite stories he told was when he first got his first rod of color. He went to melt the color and the glass wouldn’t melt. Right then, he learned that Borro melts at much higher temperatures, so he needed to upgrade his torch. It is so cool to hear his story of being self taught and how far he has come. Now, Hardman creates some of the most advanced sculptures of different animals. My favorite has to be his skeleton chameleons. Each one is unique and one of a kind, and some of them, they don’t even look like glass. Harman’s skill in using color and sculpting has really pushed this industry forward.
This was a very fun interview with Chase Hardman. He explained that he doesn’t collaborate very often, but he will be working to do more and more collabs in the future. I can’t wait to see who he starts working with and how his art will evolve with other input. There is a bright future for Hardman Art Glass, so if you aren’t already following him, check out his Instagram page @Hardman_Art_Glass and give him a follow to stay up to date on all of his freshest pieces.
