Don Shepherd, 1982
“Shorty sits again in the blower’s chair, rotating the piece as he checks the bottom. He cuts down and drips cool water on the neck part that is nearest the pipe. Using a pipe dressed at the end with a gob of molten glass, the ‘putty boy’ carefully attaches the putty rod to the bottom of the vase. This welds the two pieces. Shorty then takes his wet cherrywood paddle, again drips water on the neck, and, with a tap of the paddle and the horizontal blowpipe, transfers the piece to the finishing pipe — from Shorty to Jesse.
“Through a series of steps — reheating in the glory hole, shaping the cracked-off end for shearing, reheating, shearing, reheating and finishing the top lip — the vase is completed. It is now cracked off the putty pipe into the waiting asbestos-lined arms of the carry-in fork. From here it is transported to a chamber called the lehr where it gradually cools, or anneals.
“This is a cycle that will repeat itself more than two hundred times this day. As you watch, you become aware of the myriad actions and gestures that are going on within the group. It is understandable why writers have equated their timing and rhythm to that of a ballet. The men, with an almost casual indifference, somehow make this very difficult and highly skilled process look easy.
“How many times, in a moment of exuberance, have I heard Shorty say, ‘You can make almost anything in glass.’ When I pose a particularly difficult problem in glass, Jesse often responds, ‘I don’t know if I can do it, but I’ll try!’ Then with quiet determination he will take on the task and, in most cases, work it out in short order. This special optimism is absolutely essential when working with a material that is as difficult to control as is glass.
“In recent years, every piece that I have exhibited has been blown by one of these two gifted craftsmen. On the bottom of every piece of my blown glass sculpture, the name of one of these two men appears with my own. It is my way of expressing my respect and high personal regard for Everett ‘Shorty’ Finley and Earl ‘Jesse’ Carpenter.” –D.A.S.
