After watching a documentary about famed glass artist Dale Chihuly in the mid-’90s, Newt Grover was inspired to take up glassblowing. “I thought it was this unbelievably cool thing,” he says. “I’m somewhat impulsive, and I just want to go for it.”
When Grover, who had previously worked in jewelry and neon art, started in the glassblowing game, there was nowhere to learn the technique in the Valley. The Ohio native taught himself by reading books, watching VHS tapes and watching glassblowers in Tucson and California. “I inferred a lot. One of my gifts is to be able to reverse-engineer or figure out how something is done.”
Grover creates commercial and residential work and primarily focuses on larger pieces. Think intricate chandeliers or sculpture-type pieces for homes, hospitals, offices and restaurants. He estimates he works on three to four projects simultaneously out of his Scottsdale studio or “hot shop,” typically along with two assistants and one apprentice. Locally, you can see his work at Mastro’s, Ajo Al’s and Wildflower Bread Company in addition to Wildflower and Barrio Café’s Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport locations. He loves the variety in glassblowing.
“There’s so much to learn. There’s so much to do. I know what my skillset is, and I’m always trying to push my skillset beyond that in everything,” Grover says. “If you look at my website, you’ll see a really broad range, because I don’t want to get stuck making the same stuff over and over.”
He’s created everything from vases and handblown wall plates to a “snow” chandelier with ribbons of white glass woven with dashes of red for a private residence in Montana. Grover travels to install his work all over the country and estimates a few hundred thousand people see his work every day.
“I’ve come to realize that my job is to put beauty into the world,” he says. “In life, you have to – not just to make a living – but you almost have a responsibility to put value into the world.”
For more information, visit newtglass.com.
Torch
“We actually call that a ‘fluffy torch’ because we have another one that’s a ‘hot’ torch for spot heating,” Grover says.
Wet Newspapers
Grover folds up newsprint, wets it and uses it to help mold the hot glass. “Newspaper is really the closest you’re going to get to touching the glass,” Grover says.
Murrini
Grover creates murrini – small, round pieces of glass that resemble candies and are incorporated into larger pieces.
Glory Hole
Glass pieces are placed inside this furnace, heated to about 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit, to reheat them. He gets 30 seconds to one minute of work time before he has to reheat.
Sculpture
This a work in progress for a private home in Tempe. “They wanted something spectacular,” Grover says.
