Americana Arcade

 

 

 

 

The old saying, “When God closes one door, he opens another,” is just another cliché, until that door leads you to a place that you could only imagine. After an enjoyable and rewarding 30 year career as a stained glass craftsman was brought to a halt by a worsening of chronic back pain, it seemed that the creative outlet that I cherished was gone forever. Then, an amazing series of events led to a new creative process that has allowed me to continue to work with glass, and to fashion and create a brand new subject matter, but one that is much easier on my back.


Inspired by an image I saw in a restaurant in Chicago years ago, I started experimenting with mirror, and colored mirror to see what kind of images could be created, and I was intrigued by the initial results. Living in Austin, The Live Music Capital of the World, it only seemed natural to explore music icons as subject matter. From a rather primitive Johnny Cash, to Willie Nelson, to other local acts, each new piece gained a clarity and style that I was never able to achieve by traditional flat glasswork.


The other great passion in my life has always been music, and living in the Bay Area, smack dab in the middle of the counterculture, allowed me the great privilege of seeing all the legends, live and in person. From the Fillmore to the Avalon Ballroom to Winterland, acts like the Dead, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Muddy Waters were playing these halls for little money. At least 3 times a week, we would head over the Golden Gate, and have our pick of remarkable shows.


I also did a stint as a roadie for a New Riders/ Jefferson Airplane/ Grateful Dead tour. During a 3-year adventure in Hawaii, I worked for a transportation company that was hired by a promoter to drive visiting artists around the island. I met Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Miles, and many others as cab fares, and it was a blast.


Possessing no musical skills, I guess I was, like a lot of young men of the era, a frustrated musician who could only imagine what it would be like to turn on an audience like those folks did.

 

 

 

www.AmericanaArcade.com