It's days like today

It's days like this why I love my job. A few days ago I met Tim Drier, a glass blower for Dow Chemical, for the first time at a gallery showing of some of his work. I was assigned to do a portrait and there was a possibility of going to his studio later in the week. We talked for a bit and then decided to meet for breakfast at a local diner before heading to his studio this morning. He first took interest in glass blowing when he and his dad were at the library (when he was a little kid) and they found a book with glass blowing information. His dad did it as a hobby, but Tim said he was never the same afterwards. He went to school in New Jersey and eventually landed in Sanford, Michigan. Having moved around as a kid, he wanted to settle in a place so his three daughters wouldn't have to deal with some of the emotional and mental exhaustions of starting over in a new place after moving a lot. So, we ate breakfast and chatted about everything from how he got into glass blowing, to photography, to the economy, to a project his daughter is doing dealing with the photographs taken for the (FSA) Farm Security Administration. We headed over to the studio, which was tucked back in the woods overlooking the Salt River. Tim had mentioned a few times that he didn't care one-way or another if he were photographed or in the newspaper, or if anyone liked the work he produced. He does it for himself and just out of the love for doing it. He sells things here and there and has a sale of glass butterflies at the local gardens, but he keeps it special by only selling them once a year. It was nice to come across a genuinely nice person and make a new friend.




portrait