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| Gay artist Tim Tate says he ‘found voice in art with glass,’ by creating personal pieces of his work that were influenced by his HIV-status and his mother’s death from cancer. The founder and director of the Washington Glass School has an exhibition at the Fraser Gallery in Georgetown through July 18. (Photo by Luis Gomez) |
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By: Dwaun Sellers
COMMENTS
 
In the world of glass art, Tim Tate needs no introduction.
“I am the only gay male glass blower on this earth,” he claims.
“I’ve asked every glass school and no one’s even heard of
one before me.”
To most people, blowing glass may not sound like the most appealing thing to
do in your spare time, but for Tate it has become a passion that is leading
to success.
“I found my voice in art with glass, or it found me,” he says.
Tate, 42, learned in the early ’80s that he was HIV-positive. After discovering
his HIV status, his life actually improved in many ways.
“I didn’t work with glass until I found out I was HIV-positive,”
Tate explains, noting that he has had no physical imparities because of his
condition. “HIV gave me creative drive in my artwork.”
Finding out he was HIV-positive also affected Tate’s life in another
way.
“My goal was that I wanted to leave a legacy behind,” he says.
THE GAY ARTIST whose “sacred heart” images are on display at the
Fraser Gallery until July 18 said they are related to his health status and
a tribute to his mother.
“I grew up in an atheist home and when my mother died from cancer she
donated her body to science,” Tate explains. “Once they were done
with her, they cremated her body and asked for someone from the family to come
and pick up her remains.
“So I claimed her ashes, and the first heart I crafted was created to
hold [them],” Tate says. “I’m the only one who knows where
they are.”
This helps explain the gay artist’s decision to create canopic jars like
those the Egyptians used to hold the organs of corpses buried in the pyramids.
Tate says his artwork includes healing images that help people who are ill.
The pieces are breathtaking, from the colors to the careful technique he uses
to form glass sculptures that reveal subtle images. He says it took 10 years
to fully learn how to make the pieces. Today, he can create a masterpiece in
four hours.
They don’t come cheap, however. Tate’s glass art ranges in price
from $450 to $2,500.
“Before, the only way you got glass was from a factory. Today, more things
are being asked from glass,” he says. “In my pieces, I use ceramic
and steel because they’re not just figurative or decorative, they’re
content-driven.”
Tate is one of few local glass artists who have been approached about displaying
his pieces at a traditional art gallery.
“With the current economy, the art market is suffering and it’s
hard to take risks [on local artists],” notes Catriona Fraser, owner of
the Fraser Gallery, which has sites in Georgetown and Bethesda.
Fraser became a fan of Tate’s work after seeing it three years ago at
the first Art-O-Matic, a month-long exhibit of artists’ work in metropolitan
D.C.
“Many galleries use artists that they know will sell,” Fraser says.
“They want two-dimensional fine art. They’re so set on the focus
of the gallery that even bringing in something like fine art glass [is unthinkable].
But what Tim’s doing is amazing.”
Fraser said her galleries support local and emerging artists like Tate, and
she believes his work will sell.
“Once a few of the pieces sell, other galleries will realize that they
should showcase glass sculptures as well,” Tate predicts.
In addition to being an artist, he is founder and director of the Washington
Glass School and teaches a steel and glass sculpture development course for
serious artists.
“I want people to see beyond beauty,” Tate says. “Technique
means nothing. I want them to take technique and add content into it.”
MORE INFO
‘Seized Moments, Captured Memories’
Fraser Gallery,
1054 31st St., NW
Until July 18
202-298-6450
www.thefrasergallery.com
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