Check out Caleb Siegler’s Artwork

Today we’d like to introduce you to Caleb Siegler.

Caleb, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I started blowing glass with a $50 plumbers torch when I was in high school. My parents let me set up a little studio in our laundry room. The first things I made were small marbles, jewelry, and assorted knick-knacks. After years of trying to sell my wares locally and regionally through small gift shops, I decided to take a huge leap of faith and apply for a massive national art show. I got accepted last minute with about two months to prepare.

I created an entirely new body of work, hoping that I wouldn’t make a fool out of myself at the show. Well, opening week of the show, I sold my largest piece to date for far more than any piece prior to that. I’ve grown tremendously in the last two years as an artist, a husband, a human, and a general low-grade rule breaker and questioner of the status quo.

We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
First and foremost, I am a flame worker, which is essentially shaping, blowing or otherwise manipulating molten glass with a specialized torch as a heat source. Flameworking is a more contemporary style of glassblowing. Secondly, I do traditional furnace glassblowing, which is a more widely known form of glassblowing, where a five-foot-long metal blowpipe is dipped into a furnace of molten glass and manipulated from there. I also do a lot of metal fabrication and welding for my larger scale pieces and chandeliers. Most recently, I’ve started exploring cast glass, which is the process of making a mold and filling it with molten glass.

I primarily make three-dimensional abstract sculptural objects ranging from the size of a basketball to my largest pieces spanning 7’x4′, and everything in between. Many of my pieces are only glass but many are mixed media with steel and other material components.

My current body of work deals with the pursuit of balance in a busy world. Through my process, I explore small windows into the human condition, how we are all too busy for our own good, and how art can be a meditation for calming the soul. I am doing a series right now that explores personality types, our flawed nature, and what makes us all unique. I hope that through my work, I can open up conversations about things that we don’t all want to admit to. I want people to see the world in a different way, to know that they aren’t alone, and to know that finding balance in today’s busy world is as hard as it sounds, but worth the pursuit.

How can artists connect with other artists?
Honestly, it is lonely. I work by myself about 95% of the time in my private studio. I have had people work with me before, but generally, it gets a bit overwhelming and distracting. I will say that the glass blowing community is relatively small and friendly. If I needed to crash on a couch, I could find somebody in almost any state in a couple of hours by putting out a Facebook post to my glass friends.

For artists trying to meet other artists, I recommend classes. I met one of my friends, Seth Fairweather, by taking a class he was teaching on a specific type of glass blowing that I didn’t know how to do at the time. We have since become great friends, collaborated on pieces, and been sounding boards to each other with new ideas.

Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I show annually at Scottsdale’s premier art show, Celebration of Fine Art which takes place mid-January through the end of March (www.celebrateart.com). I am also terribly excited and grateful for the opportunity to exhibit my work at SOFA Chicago this fall with Havoc Gallery. SOFA is an international art show with a big emphasis on glass art.

Photos of my work can be found on my website. I’m always up for discussing commissions for private or public art. My work will also be available at Ramey Gallery in Palm Springs, California in November.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.calebsiegler.com
• Phone: 602-317-3996
• Email: caleb@calebsiegler.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/calebsiegler
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/calebsieglerglassart

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