Teen a glass act
By Bob Brawdy, Herald photographer
Like lots of teenagers, Alex Garvie has a knack for riding skateboards and loves to fish in the rivers and lakes around the Tri-Cities. But unlike most teenagers, Garvie, a 2010 Richland High graduate, has a passion and is developing a talent for glass artistry.
The 17-year-old discovered his interest in a material science class his junior year. Since that time, with help from his parents, Gayle and Paine, he's put a studio, filled with all the needed tools and equipment, in the garage of their Richland home. There's a torch, graphite molds, reamers, tweezers and safety glasses. A beginner can find a starter kit for about $300, said Garvie, but he has invested more than that. The family recently finished putting in a large ventilation hood, like ones you see in restaurants over the cooking grills, above his work space to evacuate fumes and heat.
During the summer, when he's not attending a glass artistry class or teaching skateboarding for the Kennewick Parks Department, he spends his free time creating beads, rings, pendants, marbles, bottle stoppers and paperweights.
In March, he was recognized with a Judge's Choice Award at the 2010 Educational Service District 123 Regional High School Art Show for a glass vortex marble. It is now on display in the Old State Capitol building in Olympia. His work is offered for sale at galleries and stores around the Mid-Columbia. His pendants are also features in the Moon & Jules Boutique in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island.
Garvie is attending Columbia Basin College in Pasco while continuing to attend classes at the Eugene Glass School and Pilchuck Glass School during school breaks.
He says he's not sure where his newfound talent will take him in the future but for right now it's just what he enjoys most. And that seems evident in the in the pieces he creates.
-- Online:www.glassartbyalex.blogspot.com
Read more: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/09/26/1186149/teen-a-glass-act.html#ixzz130LhfnDE
