|
SiOx Limited is a business that sells
handcrafted art glass. The SiOx studio is in Rochester,
NY and holds an assortment of individually handcrafted
items, including plates, different size bowls, vases,
lamps, tables and one-of-a-kind works of art. In the
sunlight, the art glass glimmers on the shelves. In
the other room artist Ronald Frear works on his creations,
carefully making each piece.
Frear prefers to be called a craftsman
and says he gets his ideas from around town. “Mainly
they are things I see around here,” he said, pointing
out the wildflowers on some of his glassware. “A
lot of these flowers are back by Larkins Creek where
I live.
For Frear, his new career was an eventual progression
into his family’s love of art. A construction
worker for years, Frear never seemed to share the love
of art that his mother and sisters enjoyed. But one
day, he saw a Rochester resident’s glassware creations,
and became interested in the process.
Armed with limited supplies but a willingness
to create, he began handcrafting glassware in 1987.
“It was just trial and error. At that time there
were no books on it,” Frear explained. He used
the basement of his parents’ house and started
with a small kiln. His mother, an artist herself, was
a great support.
Striving to be as original as the handcrafted
glass he made Frear sought the help of his sister Lorrie,
an accomplished artist herself, in naming the business.
After much creative brainstorming and a little sibling
rivalry they named the business SiOx Glass Ltd. SiOx
is a combination of the components that make up glass.
You can find Ron Frear at many of the
popular arts festivals in the Northeast such as Corn
Hill and Clothesline Arts festivals in Rochester, the
Allentown Arts Festival in Buffalo, NY and the Patriot
News Festival in Harrisburg, PA. He enjoys meeting the
people who buy his work and getting new ideas from conversations
with them.
Leaving behind his former career, Frear
became a full-time art glass craftsman in 2000. He says
he enjoys running his own business, and the hours allow
him time to spend with his wife and children.
“I guess art runs in the
family,” said Frear, who admits he was never that
interested in art until he got involved in handcrafting
glassware. “You kind of fall into it.”
You can see his talent in each piece of glassware he
creates.
|
