Blown GlassDavid Tate
“While working on a Bachelor’s degree in Art, he decided to take the glass-forming class and became captured by the medium.”
David’s first exposure to glass-forming was at California State University, Fullerton. In 1983, while working on a Bachelor’s degree in Art, he decided to take the glass-forming class and became captured by the medium.
He experimented with many different techniques and made attempts at combining them. for instance, fusing with blowing and casting with blowing. Glass casting became the dominant method used for my Master’s degree exhibition in the fall of 1990. After that he opened his own studio and began blowing glass pieces again.
Around that time, Dave began applying to fairs and festivals locally around Southern California. Then he was invited to participate at a Renaissance festival in Minneapolis, Minnesota. There he had a large space to exhibit his work and demonstrate to the public for seven weekends during August and September. The fair drew between twenty to forty thousand people on the weekend days and his demonstrations would have well over 200 people watching. Dave engaged them verbally during the demonstration using a wireless microphone explaining processes and each step of the glass piece he was making.
In 2004, Dave had the opportunity to return to CSU, Fullerton to teach glass forming for several years as an adjunct teacher. It was fascinating how the students were hungry for information and just about anything he said got their attention. He enjoyed the opportunity and was happy that quite a few of those students continued working with glass after graduating.
Dave retired from the Renaissance fair in 2009. He began participating in fairs and festivals around the mid-west and western region, Texas, Oklahoma, and Missouri, just to name a few, and then show locally around southern California where he lives and has his studio.
