High Bastard Boro has been blowing glass since November of 2011, he loved glass and used to frequent smoke shops near him just to look at the functional art. It was a small jump when he realized he could buy a torch and dive deep into glass blowing on his own. When asked about mentors he had, there were quite a few he gave credit to. Alan Amsterdam from Capitol Hemp, Rick from K Nine Tubes, Inkz Glass, Sovereignty, Toro and Mothership just to name a few. If you look closely you can see small influences in High Bastard Boros’ work, like how some of the color schemes he uses are similar to Mothership and K Nine, or how some of his pieces are reminiscent of Inkz Glass in their shape.
Most of the time, his inspiration comes from his last project. Glass is a constant practice of trial and error, so whenever something works out High Bastard tries to keep incorporating it into his future work. He says the newest, craziest thing is just an added twist on a past piece. His favorite technique however, is lathe work. With a lathe, he feels he’s got a perfect set of robot arms that can spin all day, while his regular arms make the magic happen. Although this requires a different way of thinking because the glass is sideways and spinning, the thing he has the most difficulty with is balancing torch time with life in general. He says if he wants to be really good at what he does, he has to focus on the bigger picture and his lifestyle, while not going too far down the rabbit hole that is glassblowing.
You may have seen the color klein tubes he’s been making on his Instagram, or maybe you scooped up the one we had in store, but have you seen the one with Mushroom Millies? EBitten (who is also a part of the F&F Glassblower selection) taught him the technique of applying the millies straight to the tube, and since then he’s attended a Millie workshop by Stephen Boehme and Robert Koch II, who both make some amazing Murrini marbles.
As a member of ASGS (American Scientific Glassworking Society) High Bastard does an amazing job at combining the thick, sleek look of Scientific glass with the colorful artistic designs of Heady glass. We look forward to seeing what other elements will be added to his work in the future!
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