Glass artist Joe Sherry would be the first to say he's not exactly living on Easy Street. But for the past five years, he has lived in a small live/work art studio in the heart of Grand Rapids'
Avenue for the Arts, and, in his words, "I love every bit of it."
Sherry, 29, owns
En Fuego (Spanish for "on fire") Hand Blown Glass (235 S. Division Ave), a 1,000-square-foot studio and residence developed by
Dwelling Place Sherry crafts hand blown wine glasses, bath and kitchen faucet handles, jewelry and chess sets, and teaches students glass blowing techniques in one-on-one sessions.
"I've been blowing glass for nine years and I just wanted to open up to Grand Rapids and start teaching as many people as I could," Sherry says. "I've been really trying to get into the interior decorating industry with custom faucet handles. I did all 102 tap handles for the new
Reserve wine bar."
Sherry started out making pipes and other paraphernalia for Purple East, but didn't like the "bad rep you get making all that stuff," he says. So he segued into custom hardware for interior design and collaborates on projects like the glass chandelier he's making with fellow artist
Steven Mark Fidler.
Hard glass comes in tube and rock forms. Sherry heats it with a gas torch, infuses it with color, silver or 24-kt. gold, then shapes it freehand and cools it in a kiln.
As for making a living in the city's arts district, an area sprinkled with soup kitchens and homeless shelters, "It's not for everybody. You have to be able to bring people down here and make them feel safe," Sherry says. "My old roommate Bill Kirk owns Open Source next door; he set up a stage in there so we've been doing dual parties and bringing a lot of musicians down here."
Source: Joe Sherry, En Fuego Hand Blown Glass
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor
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