Red hot art

June 15, 2008|By JULIE E. GREENE

Ninety seconds to two minutes.

That's how long Michael A. Fisher has to shape molten glass at 2,000 degrees on the end of a pipe. He has to reheat it to continue to shape it into a sculpture or functional glassware.

If he's making a small piece such as a ornament ball he might go through this process once or twice. For bigger works, he might reheat the glass dozens of times before the piece is complete.

Fisher, 29, has been a glass artist for almost 12 years, selling his work mostly at wholesale shows in the past so galleries in New York City, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Orlando, Fla., and Scottsdale, Ariz., could buy pieces to resell.

After working in the Reading, Pa., area for five years, Fisher and his wife, Karrie, moved back to South Central Pennsylvania in spring 2007. Fisher graduated from Chambersburg Area Senior High School in 1997 and now lives just east of Franklin County in Adams County, Pa.

He's shifted gears, working with more materials such as metal and wood, and creating unique pieces for specific sites. Recent pieces include a shark colony sculpture for a local dentist's office and lighting fixtures and other interior design elements a bar in a Hagerstown restaurant.

Fisher loves the tradition of glass making and its processes, and using those techniques to make modern pieces.

"I like challenges," he says, "and it's obviously a challenging profession."

For more information on Michael Fisher, go to www.fisherglassdesign.com

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