In the center of the studio stood two unfinished and human-sized sculptures—one shaped like a blowfish and the other one a hot air balloon—both of which were works-in-progress. To the right of the pieces stood a bench with the artist’s tools and an insulated fire brick glory hole. Behind the glory hole stood an upright, front-loading annealing oven. Both units were connected to needle and butterfly valves, which were emergency off levers.
I asked him while looking at the blowfish and hot air balloon sculptures, “Are these your two latest creations?”
“They are. I like to work on more than one piece at a time. It keeps my mind motivated and my attention in the game.”
“Can I touch the blowfish?”
He nodded.
I stepped up to the fish and rolled fingertips over its purple left fin: smooth, c
