Sesh With ESH

An Interview With the Maine Glass Artist

Matt and Chris from MCC sat down with ESH to pick his brain about his process, his expertise, and his cannabis preferences.

MCC: Why did you get into blowing glass?

ESH: It kinda just happened. I was in Florida at Eckerd College, and I finished all my general requirements and wanted to do something interesting. I talked to the owner of a glass studio down there and started an independent study and kind of went from there. I took two independent studies with Zen Glass studios, then started making pipes after that.

MCC: What specific moment made you realize you wanted to blow glass?

ESH: I think after I made my first spoon it really clicked with me that I could make something out of nothing and work for myself and that opened my eyes to the possibilities of what I want to do for the rest of my life. Like, if I wanted to continue with the degree I was getting in environmental science…I finished my degree, but I didn’t know if I wanted to continue doing something in the environmental field or if I wanted to totally switch over and try to do something with glassblowing so that was the hard decision I had to make after college.

MCC: What and who are your influences?

ESH: I’d say all the glassblowers I have taken classes with are huge influences on me. The biggest influence for me growing up would be my dad; he always supported me in my art. He’s an artist himself so he pushed me to create things with my hands.

MCC: Who taught you how to blow glass?

ESH: So Josh Poll and Dave Walker own Zen Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida, and they taught me the fundamentals of blowing glass. They got me first on the torch, taught me some soft glass, and then my buddy, JB, who was working at Zen Glass at the time took me under his wing and taught me how to make my first pipe and brought me in to work at his studio after we left Zen Glass. He taught me a lot.

MCC: What advice would you give to someone who is starting to blow glass?

ESH: Don’t give up. Don’t be afraid to break things. Learn from your mistakes. I feel the only way you get comfortable blowing glass is just putting the hours in on the torch; the first

year I was just getting comfortable on the torch. I feel that everyone has to go through that phase so they can build the muscle memory of working with the torch.

MCC: Which glass artist has the most influence on you?

ESH: I would say from the start it would be Eusheen. He was one of the first glassblowers I saw. I saw a video of him making a wig wag bubbler and that changed my idea of what was possible with pipe making.

MCC: How would you describe your style of glass and what techniques do you use?

ESH: My style of glass is, less is more. I don’t put a lot of attachments on my glass. I keep it simple, I keep it clean. It is a pipe, and I try to make sure it functions well. I put the function of the pipe before I put art.

MCC: What type of torch do you use and why?

ESH: I use a GTT Mirage torch because I first learned on a GTT and my buddy that taught me, JB, was on a GTT, so it kind of made sense for me to purchase one, and I love it.

MCC: Do you experiment on the torch?

ESH: Yes. I experiment when I’m feeling bored or I’ve done so many orders on the same style pipe and I need to get out of my comfort zone. I really like coming up with designs in my head and making clear prototypes and seeing if they function or not.

MCC: What is your favorite glass color?

ESH: Gold ruby, just because of the way it looks under different lighting.

MCC: Who is your favorite artist to collaborate with?

ESH: Chaka. He’s the artist I’ve had the most collaborations with and for some reason it always seems to work out nicely. It’s really nice to have his theme and my design and mesh the two. It becomes a really clean, seamless piece of art.

MCC: How do you design your pieces?

ESH: It’s all different. Some designs come to me in my sleep, and I’ll wake up and doodle. Some of them come when I’m on the torch. I tend to have shapes that I like making, then I mesh all those shapes together in different ways to either make a new design or make a new function.

MCC: What is in your personal glass collection?

ESH: I have a lot of pendants and smaller items from homies. I try to collect and support my friends that blow glass.

MCC: What’s your favorite quartz nail brand and design?

A: Highly Educated, Gavel, because I really like the beveled edge on the inside. It really fits the bubble caps perfectly. It has an opaque bottom that is porous so it allows the oil to vaporize. MCC: Who is your favorite artist outside of glass?

ESH: M.C. Escher. He’s a G. When I first called myself ESH, it was partially because of M.C. Escher, I really liked his work. Esh also means fire in Hebrew. I found that out years after using it; my cousins were all hyped about it when they found out. MCC: What are your goals as an artist over the next few years?

ESH: I definitely want to get into as many shops as I can around the country. I want to continue to go to Glass Vegas and those trade shows. I want to travel more and collab with different people.

ESH in the studio.

Photograph by Matthew Bourgeois

MCC: Favorite grower?

ESH: That’s hard. There are so many growers. I would say Royal River Botanicals, because everything I’ve had from them is amazing. Jordan is nice. You can tell when somebody cares about their product. You can tell when somebody cares about what they put out there, so I try to support people that really work hard.

MCC: What is your daily driver glass pipe?

ESH: I have dozens of prototypes at my house, but I’ve been seshing off this prototype that I made about a month ago for this new design for a recycler that I might be making soon.

Details

Photograph by Matthew Bourgeois

MCC: Do you have any interest in growing in the future?

ESH: Yes, I would love to grow for personal use. Hopefully soon when I get my own place and I can do that. I would 100%.

ESH at work.

Photograph by Matthew Bourgeois

ESH is a 25-year-old glass artist based in Portland, Maine where he was born and raised. He has been blowing glass for five years and making pipes for four of those years. He hones his craft at Royal River Art & Glass at 34 Portland Street.

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