Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Fritz Dreisbach

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.dreisb04
Creators:
Dreisbach, Fritz
Frantz, Susanne K.
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America
Dates:
2004 April 21-22
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
121 Pages
Trancript
21 Items
Sound recording: 21 sound files (8 hr., 41 min.)
digital, wav
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Fritz Dreisbach conducted 2004 April 21-22, by Susanne Frantz, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Tucson, Arizona.
Scope and Contents
Dreisbach speaks of growing up in Ohio, in a family of educators and deciding at an early age to become a teacher; taking high school art; pursuing a BA in art and mathematics at Hiram College; getting his MAT and teaching high school math; attending the University of Iowa to study painting; the impact of taking a summer class in glassblowing; visiting Dominick Labino at his studio; researching colored glass and glass chemistry; becoming Harvey K. Littleton's teaching assistant at the University of Wisconsin, Madison; building a hot shop and teaching at the Toledo Museum of Art; teaching at Penland School of Crafts; creating the Glass Art Society with Mark Peiser after attending a NCECA conference; moving to Seattle to make glass colors for The Glass Eye; and working for Spectrum Glass Company. Dreisbach also speaks of the importance of community among glass artists; taking part in glass symposia in Frauenau, Germany; traveling around the country to teach workshops, known as his "Road Show"; making representational pop-style pieces as well as historical reference pieces; collaborating on a stained glass window with Gary Noffke; developing techniques for making goblets; working with Dante Marioni on a series of goblets; his commissioned pieces, including the Corning Pokal; engraving glass; his Mongo series; selling works through galleries; the influence of the Italian glass artists; teaching at Pilchuck Glass School; Dominick Labino's career and innovations in glass technology; being invited to give the Samuel R. Scholes lecture at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University; serving twice as Glass Art Society president; inaccuracies in the history of American studio glass; taking part in GAS conferences at Fenton Glass Factory; the importance of the rise of the university-trained glass artist in the 1960s; going to Pilchuck for the first time; meeting international glass artists; attending symposia at Novy Bor, Czech Republic; and his plans for the future. Dreisbach also recalls Tom McGlauchlin, Clayton Bailey, Erwin Eisch, Dale Chihuly, Bill Brown, Marvin Lipofsky, Joel Myers, Billy Bernstein, Dan Dailey, Dudley Giberson, Harvey Leafgreen, Bill Boysen, Henry Halem, Peter Voulkos, Ruth Tamura, and others.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Fritz Dreisbach (1941- ) is a glass artist from Tucson, Arizona. Susanne Frantz is a writer and curator from Paradise Valley, Arizona.

Administration

Sponsor
Funding for this interview was provided by the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America. Funding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.

Digital Content


More Information

General

General
Originally recorded on 8 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 21 digital wav files. Duration is 8 hr., 41 min.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Decorative arts Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painting -- Study and teaching Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ohio -- Description and Travel Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Glass artists -- Arizona -- Tucson Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Glass artists -- Italy Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Glass art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bailey, Clayton, 1939-2020 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bernstein, William, 1945- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Boysen, Bill Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Brown, William J. (William Joseph), 1923-1992 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chihuly, Dale, 1941- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dailey, Dan, 1947- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Eisch, Erwin, 1927- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Giberson, Dudley Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Halem, Henry Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Labino, Dominick Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Leafgreen, Harvey Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lipofsky, Marvin, 1938-2016 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Littleton, Harvey K. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
McGlauchlin, Tom, 1934-2011 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Myers, Joel Philip, 1934- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Noffke, Gary Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tamura, Ruth Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Voulkos, Peter, 1924-2002 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Alfred University Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Glass Art Society Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hiram College -- Students Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Penland School of Crafts -- Faculty Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pilchuck Glass Center (Stanwood, Wash.) -- Faculty Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Toledo Museum of Art Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
University of Iowa -- Students Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
University of Wisconsin--Madison -- Students Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives of American Art
750 9th Street, NW
Victor Building, Suite 2200
Washington, D.C. 20001
https://www.aaa.si.edu/services/questions