Cover Story Ben Burton 46 Issue CHAMPS Show Magazine June 2023

BEN BURTON “SEEN AT CHAMPS” INTERVIEW

Ben is a long-time friend and a great artist. Like me, he considers himself a lover of the beach and everything tropical. One of his signature pieces is flamingos made of a glass color called serendipity. I have been lucky enough to win two of his goblet entries at CHAMPS Colorado.

Although he was not competing in the Masters this year, he did show up to support others and sell some glass! It was great to see him, catch up, and make more plans for good times and great glass in the future.

Here is a little interview to get you into the mind of Burtoni!

Ben, your glass career has been long and varied. How did you get started?

Ever since I was young, I always loved art. I did a lot of two-dimensional art as a child, sketching, drawing, and painting. I got into ceramics in high school and quickly excelled in the media and continued taking courses when I went to college. I soon discovered glass blowing while I was in college and was offered an apprenticeship with a local artist my freshman year. Once I turned the torch on, I was hooked and have been blowing glass ever since.

Your use of the color palette is something I have always admired. You are able to find so many vibrant colors to accent using Serendipity. What inspires you to use specific colors?

Ben: I’m a big fan of color and movement, and I like to emphasize that in my work. Natural life provides such a beautiful array of colors across the whole spectrum, and I enjoy recreating those combinations with glass. Bright-colored birds and flowers surrounded by lush green vegetation, and bright blue seas teeming with multi-colored sea life have always been my inspirations. And over the last 20 years, the advancements in color have allowed me to pursue those directions.

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BEN BURTON “SEEN AT CHAMPS” INTERVIEW

Dankman: Cups, Goblets, and Mugs… this seems to be an emerging Boro category, with such a wide range of customers. What do you think about the growing popularity?

Ben: I think it’s great! It offers an introduction to our industry to a whole new group of people who may not be interested in smoking or buying pipes. Everyone needs to hydrate and it opens up a new set of doors for us to extend our art to a much larger group of people. I’d love to see this market grow!

Dankman: Inspiration comes in many forms, places, and moments. Tell us about your inspirations. What inspires you these days?

Ben: I started blowing glass in Hawai’i and have always been inspired by the natural beauty of the islands. The flora and fauna there have such an appealing quality, so I do my best to recreate them in an attempt to draw others into what I find beautiful.

Dankman: You are a dog lover and great doggy daddy. Anything you think artists with pets should know about working with pets around the studio?

Ben: I’ve always been a proponent of ‘Life is better with a dog,’ and having one or multiple in the studio is just a nice combination of work and love. But you have to be careful when you’ve got your animals with you, because they’re not aware of what hot glass or sharp glass is until they discover it for the first time. You just need to be a little more careful when you’ve got pets around so they don’t learn the hard way.

Do you name your pieces individI don’t usually name individual pieces, but I do usually classify them into groups of sorts. But occasionally, a piece is so outstanding that it deserves its own recognition outside of its grouping that it will get its

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BEN BURTON “SEEN AT CHAMPS” INTERVIEW

Dankman: Breakfast… I ask everyone this, what is your favorite breakfast food?

Oooooh weeeee! I love breakfast! It’s got to be something savory. A good breakfast sandwich is a great way to start the day! I love bacon, eggs, and hash browns, but I can’t say no to a good corned beef hash,

If you could tell up-and-coming artists one thing about the Boro Hustle… What would it be?

Alongside the boro hustle, or any hustle, is to find something you love and own it. Work on it, develop it, make it recognizable, and make it yours. Take something you already enjoy and work it into your glass work. You’ll find happiness making things that make you happy. And surround yourself with like-minded and motivated people who support you and encourage you, and you’ll find yourself heading in the right direction.

I know you are always working on projects and collaborations. Tell the readers what you have planned this year.

I feel like this is going to be a great year to work with friends, as well as newer artists. I’ve always enjoyed helping others grow and sharing ideas that lead to more involved work between artists. I’d like to do some teaching as well as some traveling to meet new people and to develop new ideas to incorporate into my work.

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BEN BURTON

“SEEN AT CHAMPS” INTERVIEW

Dankman: Lastly, where would it be if you had one place in the world that you could visit?

Ben: This might be the hardest question to answer in this interview! There are sooooooo many places I’d still like to travel to. Mostly warm and tropical places, somewhere with water, but not limited to that. South America has so many places I’d love to see. Places like Indonesia, and the Philippines have always drawn my attention. I’d love to visit Japan and Australia, and New Zealand as well. There are beautiful lakes in Africa that I’d really like to see and swim in as well as adventuring across the savannas. There are so many beautiful places across the globe I don’t know if I could pick just one.

Thanks, Ben. We really appreciate you sharing your work and insight with our readers, we hope the rest of 2023 is amazing for you, and we hope to see you at the Denver Show!