Rich Fisher has been a glass sculptor for 25 years. Rich immediately fell in love with the qualities of hot glass when he was invited to sit at a friends torch. The next day he began teaching himself to blow and sculpt glass. It was the beginning of a passion that would lead him on a life long artistic journey. This journey has deepened his love of glass as a sculptural medium , which is expressed in each of his pieces.
Working with a 4000 degree flame, Rich works carefully and in cooperation with the elements of gravity and the natural fluidity of the glass in order to achieve the delicate play of light within his designs.
Rich’s studio is ablaze with the sounds of jazz while he’s working. (Occasionally, he is accompanied by the sound of shattering glass) He finds improvisational jazz interesting because it pushes traditional boundries. "Jazz is most exciting to me when I can’t anticipate where it’s going . Glass affects me the same way emotionally. I am still constantly intrigued and amazed that a solid matter can become fluid and be manipulated into so many beautiful forms". Artistic curiosity continues to lead him into many situations where the glass will pull (or push) him in directions he has not previously explored.
Rich works with borosilicate crystal because of the variety of ways it can be manipulated and because of it’s inherent strength and durability. Using the ancient method of lampwork (or flameworking), Rich creates contemporary designs by melting and manipulating glass rods of various diameter over a gas-oxygen flame.
The Fisher Glass studio is in Nevada City - a small town in the heart of Nothern California’s "gold country" in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Rich lives with his teenage son Zach, and numerous furry creatures.
Made by Creative Focus Design