Sculptor in glass David Wight is known as "Big Wave Dave" for the intricate, exquisite glass waves he creates.
David Wight is shown here at work in his foundry. One of his remarkable finished sculptures can be seen as well.
David Wight is an evolutionary glass artist, known for capturing the idea of water and movement, bringing energy and force into the form of solid glass waves.
His life changed with a trip to the Caribbean that opened his eyes to his fascination of water and the associated tranquility of moving water. A native of Bellingham, Washington, he subsequently studied at Seattle's Pilchuck Glass School.
Ultimately, David developed a process to sculpt waves out of the molten liquid of hot glass in a highly creative yet almost industrial-looking series of steps filled with motion and heat -- each action characterized by the skill and vision that only a passionate artist can achieve.
His goal of "making water" with glass began with little splashes of water and has evolved into complex waves such as the exquisite "Waterdance" sculpture and the challenging "Tsunami Wave." Capturing the essence and movement of water with 2000-degree molten glass goes beyond the boundaries of traditional glass sculpture and makes David Wight's work distinctive and striking.
Recently, he shared some insights into the creativity and inspirations that fuel his work.
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Q: As an artist, how does it feel to work with glass?
DAVID WIGHT: It feels invigorating, inspiring and like the raw material is inspiring, going through that transformation from 2000 degrees of liquidness into this sculpture of molten glass. Every time that you touch the material, you're creating something that's never been created before. Every day I work with this material is the best day I've ever experienced with the material.
Q: Why did you want to work with the idea of water, and specifically waves, in your sculptures?
DW: During my trip to the Caribbean, I hiked through the rainforest to a pool where this waterfall was. After watching the waterfall for quite a long time, I realized the tranquility of falling water, running water and water in general, and how soothing and beautiful it is -- how calming and peaceful -- and what it does to your body and your senses. I wanted to bring that essence into people's lives.
When I began, I really enjoyed making blown glass water fountains, but I felt like I was touching on the water but not fully embodying the experience. The way I could get into the water in sculpture was to actually try to make the water. So I'd take the glass out of the furnace and I'd drip it through grates that would make big drips, and I'd pour it all over the place and watch it flow -- pour it on all different types of material -- and I got to recognize all the different forms that water embodies and takes on. Then I realized that I wanted to have one sculpture embody what running water meant to me, and that's how the waves came up.
Q: When you're creating glass waves, do you see the finished wave in your mind?
DW: I capture the moments in the wave sculptures where the water's coming up and cresting and just holding the energy right before it breaks. I'm always looking at one line on the whole wave, and I'm trying to build up that line until the wave itself says "pinnnnng -- now it's complete" and then I know it is. I don't actually know when that's going to happen; it's all a feeling.
Q: How do you think your sculptures affect people?
DW: I think my work affects people on a cellular level, whether they are aware of it or not, because we are all mostly water, and we all resonate in that same liquid, fluid field. My goal was to bring people's awareness back to their bodies and back to their fluid nature by creating a piece that resonates with that.
Q: Can you share any one specific lesson you've learned while creating your wave sculptures?
DW: I learned that I cannot rush the material. I have to work with it; I cannot work against it. You cannot go against the grain of everything -- and I realized how easy that is to do in life in general. It became this whole process of how to flow through life naturally, and to recognize how easy it is to try to force yourself into something you're not prepared to do -- or you are prepared to do, but you need to do it in a way that flows in a symbolic way or synchronize with it.
Q: What advice would you give to young artists?
DW: Find out what your passion really is. Find out what you really love to do -- especially if it makes no sense at all, because the reality of the world doesn't teach you to think that way.
You take that thought and you stick with "What do I love? What do I want my life to be like? How do I want to feel when I wake up and when I'm working, and who do I want to work with? How do I want my life to feel?" Those are the questions that allow you to figure out what you're passionate about.
Whatever you desire, you can manifest and you can create. And so my advice would be just stay with it and focus on what you love and believe in yourself.
