Makers come in all different forms. Some shape molten glass just to get a good laugh.
For the next part of WGLT's Maker to Maker series, we sat down with John Miller, surrounded by his exhibit of super-sized dinner food.
Miller, an associate professor of glass at Illinois State University, stumbled into glass blowing by chance when he was a student.
“Because I heard this cheering and clapping going on in the hallway. So I walked in… I didn’t know there was a glass program at Southern Connecticut and I kinda flipped out and took a class that following semester,” Miller said.
The rest was history. Miller, a competitive person by nature, was ensnared by the impossibility of truly mastering glass.
“You’re constantly learning and getting slapped in the face,” Miller said.
Miller’s work is eye-catching, to say the least. It’s stylish, supersized, and very colorful.
Molds might not be what you have in mind when imagining glassblowing, but Miller has used them in his Blue Plate Special diner work.
“I needed to make some crinkle cut fries and I figured ‘that’s the best way to go’ … I made it out of clay initially, and then I made a two-part plaster mold on a hinge, so I can drop the bubble in and expand it.”
The rest was skillfully crafted freehand, using gravity and centrifugal force.
Saying “the rest” doesn’t really do the space justice. Miller has thousands of pieces throughout his workshop.
Miller’s bold work is only possible because of his strong base in the fundamentals. It took time for him to get to this point. He started with classical forms, making things like bowls, cylinders and vases.
That airtight knowledge in the basics makes Miller a suitable teacher.
Glass can be a risky material to work with. It needs to be heated to several thousand degrees. But in his role at ISU, Miller gets students involved. The key is understanding how all the basics come together.
“We’re heavy, heavy into safety. … We drill them in, to tell you the truth, in a military style,” Miller said.
Not by screaming over the shoulder, but by repetition and clear communication. And when they have the basics down, students are ready to jump in.
“They blow glass, they sculpt, they cast glass … they cut, engrave, sandblast, glue, mixed-media sculpture,” said Miller.
Miller gets cold calls asking to showcase his work at different venues. So far he’s hit 48 states.
“It’s nice to have different groups of people come through and see this, because you never know who you’re gonna meet,” said Miller.
For his diner pop-art, the curation process is the best part. Miller lets his imagination take the wheel to build a thematic exhibit.
"I kept thinking: How can I really activate this work and give it a home?"
It started with the small details: adding stainless steel to pedestals and setting up a thematic neon sign.
But as things went on it became, as Miller calls it, a “monster.”
“There are diner booths that are the actual pedestals for the work. There’s a ‘54 Ford Mainline I bought without an engine and transmission so I can make it a rolling art piece. … I also use ‘50s kitchen tables to show the work as well,” Miller said.
Sitting in the middle of it all, it’s overwhelming. Bright colors, dozens of supersized foods, and artifacts from diners in Bloomington-Normal and beyond.
Miller’s work might be based on diners of the 1950s and 60s, but in the present day he only sees the world of glass growing.
“One of the big changes that happened in the last 20 years is that glass is an art medium. It is not just a functional material.”
That has a lot to do with the properties of glass.
“It can be expanded, it could be stretched, it could be cast, it’s transparent, it’s opaque, it can conduct heat… I mean, there’s so much. It’s unlimited.” Miller explained.
Looking to the future and his legacy, Miller hopes his work makes people laugh.
“That’s kind of how I go through every single day of my life, and that is to get a laugh out of somebody,” Miller said.
Miller wants you to know that everything an artist makes is a self portrait.
“And the way that they make it, and the colors that they use, and the final outcome tells you a lot about who this person is.”
You can find John’s work on his website: Ring of Fire Hot Glass.
This conversation was part of WGLT’s Maker to Maker series. Are you a niche maker in Central Illinois? Send an email to news@wglt.org and Lou Warner might reach out for an interview.
