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April 2016
Interview Margaret Joplin Interviewed by Diane C. Taylor |
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Margaret Joplin: Creator of the Amazonian Beads
Margaret Joplin
If you’ve ever seen what looks like a giant’s glass beads strung on steel cables, you’ve seen the work of Margaret Joplin, by contrast a petite, energetic woman. She took time out of a busy day to talk about her work.
Diane C. Taylor: How did you get to Tucson?
Margaret Joplin (MJ): I’m originally from Oklahoma City. After I graduated from high school, I started out at Prescott College in 1973. After a year, I switched to Yavapai College, a community college. At the same time, I got a job at a plant nursery, owned by a Prescott College instructor and one of his former students. I was their first employee, doing all the lifting, selling and nursery maintenance. I was there for six years and ended up as the manager. Because of this, I decided to go to the U of A and study landscape architecture. I had already met my future husband, Michael, a glass blower, who moved with me to Tucson. We got married shortly thereafter and eventually I got my degree and then registration as a landscape architect in 1990.
DCT: Landscape architecture to giant glass pieces is a leap…
MJ: I was always interested in public art. After the World Trade Center, I got into glass. I was interested in casting glass and submitted something for the memorial, but I didn’t get the project. After that I applied to a public art project in Phoenix, where I was shortlisted. About seven years ago, in 2009, I modified the project, and working with my husband, was awarded the project, a memorial for fallen city employees, in Casa Grande. Before that it was 100% landscaping. Then it was 90% landscaping and 10% public art. Now it’s more like 80% glass and 20% landscaping. Both have been extremely hard hit by the economy.
Diane C. Taylor: How did you get to Tucson?
Margaret Joplin (MJ): I’m originally from Oklahoma City. After I graduated from high school, I started out at Prescott College in 1973. After a year, I switched to Yavapai College, a community college. At the same time, I got a job at a plant nursery, owned by a Prescott College instructor and one of his former students. I was their first employee, doing all the lifting, selling and nursery maintenance. I was there for six years and ended up as the manager. Because of this, I decided to go to the U of A and study landscape architecture. I had already met my future husband, Michael, a glass blower, who moved with me to Tucson. We got married shortly thereafter and eventually I got my degree and then registration as a landscape architect in 1990.
DCT: Landscape architecture to giant glass pieces is a leap…
MJ: I was always interested in public art. After the World Trade Center, I got into glass. I was interested in casting glass and submitted something for the memorial, but I didn’t get the project. After that I applied to a public art project in Phoenix, where I was shortlisted. About seven years ago, in 2009, I modified the project, and working with my husband, was awarded the project, a memorial for fallen city employees, in Casa Grande. Before that it was 100% landscaping. Then it was 90% landscaping and 10% public art. Now it’s more like 80% glass and 20% landscaping. Both have been extremely hard hit by the economy.
 MJoplin_Bird feeders and Bells_
DCT: And the giant beads?
MJ: Some years ago Milon Townsend [author note: a flame worker, based near Rochester, NY, who has expanded into casting glass and lighted pieces and has written several books] was in Tucson. I took a workshop with him to learn to cast glass. That’s when I started making the big beads. They’re now up to 12 inches in diameter. We joke that I’m making necklaces for Amazonian women. DCT: You seem to be doing much more than that… MJ: Because of landscaping, I got the idea for outdoor lighting of glass. I had an outdoor light re-tooled the first time. It was all new. Now I work with the same supplier, and he puts together what I need. I like to solve landscaping problems, and glass lighting and decorations were some of my solutions. DCT: All that from one workshop? MJ: No. About two years into the casting, I met Henry Halem, who pretty much wrote the book on casting. He came to visit Tom Philabaum and gave me some pointers. It took a while, and I’m still processing the information I got from him. |
MJoplin_Garden design with lighting_
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Margaret Joplin working on molds
DCT: I’ve heard about glass artists and how things don’t always come out right the first time….
MJ: You have to keep working on ideas until you get them right. I use the lost-wax method, where I make the object in wax. From the wax piece I make a plaster mold. The wax is steamed out, captured and re-used. The pieces of glass I use are washed and measured, then heated to flow into the mold. It takes about 3 pounds for each piece. To get the piece out, I break the mold, so it can’t be re-used. To ensure the best result, the mold has to be as precise as possible.
DCT: That sounds time-consuming.
MJ: From start to finish, the cast pieces take about a week. They’re in the kiln for three days.
DCT: How many pieces can you cast at one time?
MJ: I fire 25 to 30 pieces at a time in a combination ceramic/glass kiln. The height of the kiln is the limiting factor on what I can fire.
DCT: And the pieces come out of the mold and are ready to be used?
MJ: No. First they have to be cleaned up and “cold-worked”, so any sharp pieces are removed. This has been a big deal over the years. In the beginning we took the pieces to the Sonoran Glass School and used their tools. As I’ve sold pieces, I’ve invested in my own set of grinders and other tools, so I can do everything right here.
MJ: You have to keep working on ideas until you get them right. I use the lost-wax method, where I make the object in wax. From the wax piece I make a plaster mold. The wax is steamed out, captured and re-used. The pieces of glass I use are washed and measured, then heated to flow into the mold. It takes about 3 pounds for each piece. To get the piece out, I break the mold, so it can’t be re-used. To ensure the best result, the mold has to be as precise as possible.
DCT: That sounds time-consuming.
MJ: From start to finish, the cast pieces take about a week. They’re in the kiln for three days.
DCT: How many pieces can you cast at one time?
MJ: I fire 25 to 30 pieces at a time in a combination ceramic/glass kiln. The height of the kiln is the limiting factor on what I can fire.
DCT: And the pieces come out of the mold and are ready to be used?
MJ: No. First they have to be cleaned up and “cold-worked”, so any sharp pieces are removed. This has been a big deal over the years. In the beginning we took the pieces to the Sonoran Glass School and used their tools. As I’ve sold pieces, I’ve invested in my own set of grinders and other tools, so I can do everything right here.
M Joplin_Chandelier at Tucson Botanical Gardens_
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M Joplin_Words_
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M Joplin_Restaurant installation_
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DCT: But you’re still connected to the Sonoran Glass School, aren’t you?
MJ: Both my husband and I are on the board.
DCT: I see lots of metal outside by your studio. You seem to do some metal work, or at least use metal in your landscaping designs, too.
MJ: I have some pieces I’ve acquired, but I work with steel fabricators. Over the years I’ve acquired a lot of brick and sandstone when people have changed their landscaping. I re-purpose it from time to time in my landscape designs. I enjoy solving problems, and sometimes the re-purposed materials are just what I need.
DCT: Your studio is just around the corner from a coffee shop, at 403 N. 6th Avenue. Have you always been here?
MJ: No, I was on Broadway for a few years. This location, though, is ideal. I have enough space for everything.
DCT: Any new things planned for the future?
MJ: We are making larger architectural casting, from large springs to 8-inch diameter gears to large pulleys. Also, we’re exploring lighting fixtures.
MJ: Both my husband and I are on the board.
DCT: I see lots of metal outside by your studio. You seem to do some metal work, or at least use metal in your landscaping designs, too.
MJ: I have some pieces I’ve acquired, but I work with steel fabricators. Over the years I’ve acquired a lot of brick and sandstone when people have changed their landscaping. I re-purpose it from time to time in my landscape designs. I enjoy solving problems, and sometimes the re-purposed materials are just what I need.
DCT: Your studio is just around the corner from a coffee shop, at 403 N. 6th Avenue. Have you always been here?
MJ: No, I was on Broadway for a few years. This location, though, is ideal. I have enough space for everything.
DCT: Any new things planned for the future?
MJ: We are making larger architectural casting, from large springs to 8-inch diameter gears to large pulleys. Also, we’re exploring lighting fixtures.
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If you’re looking for landscaping with or without lighting, with maybe some gigantic beads thrown in, think of Margaret Joplin.
To see Margaret Joplin’s work, go to http://designcollaborations.com/ |
M Joplin_Singles_
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MJoplin_Lighting fixture_
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