A seasoned trial lawyer by profession and budding glass artisan by weekend, Gary Eisenstat began his love for glass art as a collector. Walking past a glass gallery without going in was almost impossible, notes Stefani, his wife of twenty years. About six years ago, as an anniversary gift, Stefani found a studio in Grapevine, Texas, that offered small private classes to beginners. “I was hooked at that point and began studying everything I could find about glass blowing to understand the processes, techniques, and tools.”
Since then, Gary has trained with glass artists in Dallas and at the Corning Museum of Glass. He spends most Saturdays at the Carlyn Ray Designs studio in the Design District creating solid and blown pieces of glass art of all types, shapes, sizes, and colors.
“Learning to blow glass has been a phenomenal life experience. It taps into my creative side and is completely different from the practice of law. It is very physical, intense, and dynamic. Glass is real time. At over 2,000 degrees, it demands your full concentration. The practice of law also requires intense focus, but is typically a much slower, mostly sedentary, and analytical process. Preparing a case for trial can take years. With glass, we usually start and finish a piece in a single session. However, you cannot excel in either profession without a tremendous amount of effort, persistence, skill, and dedication to the craft.”