On a honeymoon trip to Europe with his wife June 29 years ago sparked the first interest for Michael Dudas in art glass. The Murano Glass Factory in Venice inspired him to dabble in glass blowing and stained glass work. Six years ago, Dudas found his unique personal expression through fusing different glass types together at very high temperatures.
On a honeymoon trip to Europe with his wife June 29 years ago sparked the first interest for Michael Dudas in art glass. The Murano Glass Factory in Venice inspired him to dabble in glass blowing and stained glass work. Six years ago, Dudas found his unique personal expression through fusing different glass types together at very high temperatures.
“I did glass work as a stress-reliever after my work, which was about managing people and projects. Making glass objects feels great. It’s something I have control over,” said Michael Dudas, who worked as a civil engineer full-time until just this year.
Now Artistic Glassworks is his full-time work. His wife along with their daughters helped make that decision come about. Encouraged by friends along the way, the Dudases had talked off and on for several years about selling his art.
“It was always somewhat of a pipe dream and we figured we might give it a go once we both retired,” said his wife June Dudas, laid off from a local city government position two years ago.
She began to think differently about her own career path, managing the marketing and business end of the studio. Her husband created new pieces on the weekends and evenings, doing occasional shows in the community.
By January of last year, the two of them had filled so many orders, including one for a major hotel in Tampa Bay and a new 300-seat restaurant in Dallas, that they knew Artistic Glassworks could be a full-time business.
In their studio, the Dudases have a map of the U.S. showing that they have shipped orders to 26 of them. Additionally, just this past week, through their Etsy account, they finished up an order for Maria Soll, a customer in Australia. Soll said the work was stunning and exactly what she wanted.
“A lot of times people will call not even sure what they want exactly, but we get to work with them on their ideas and create something just for them,” Michael Dudas said.
Their customers also appreciate knowing the story behind the art, so his wife began posting on various topics including the history of Ikebana vase art, which is one of Artistic Glassworks’ specialties, and how wine bottle sizes are named after ancient kings.
“Because of all the cheese plates we make from vodka and liquor bottles, we get a lot of remarks at crafts and arts fairs that we must drink a lot of margaritas,” June Dudas said, laughing.
But Michael Dudas said they never touch the stuff and do not even know what Grey Goose or any of the other vodkas taste like.
To better understand what exactly she was promoting, June Dudas signed up for a local glass class. Before long, she, too, began to create art pieces for their collection.
“The internet has been a very powerful tool for our business. It allows us to compete with large retailers and fill a specialty niche for people seeking unique, yet affordable decorative and functional art,” she said.
The couple works together to find the best prices on raw materials so that they can keep their prices reasonable. One time, they found a great deal on glass and glass art equipment from a gentleman who had moved on to ceramic art and had to make room for his new hobby. Another time, they made a midnight run to a house in Los Angeles to buy soldering wire for a large custom wedding votive candle holder order.
The business’s motto is “Art within Reach.” Because the Dudases do a lot of work using old glass they have found at sales, keeping prices low.
Artistic Glassworks’ concept of repurposing was born when someone they knew gave them a pretty bottle and asked them if they could do anything with it in the studio.
We began experimenting with slumping bottles down in the kiln and found that people loved to use the flattened bottles for cheese or sushi platters. Through trial and error, we found which ones would keep their designs and which ones wouldn't, once they heat up in the kiln for a dozen hours at temperatures reaching roughly 1,500 degrees,” June Dudas said.
Because they don't have a brick and mortar shop, the business thrives on the face-to-face interaction the couple gets when they attend shows. Artistic Glassworks is a particularly popular presence at local art shows, especially those featuring green economy. They will have a booth at the SanTree Fest in Santee coming up in May.
Some new techniques on glass that the two of them intend to try this year are silk-screening and sandblasting.
“I am always learning something new all the time,” said Michael Dudas. “I still take classes.”
Go to www.artistic-glassworks.com to shop as well as request a custom order.
