We were lucky to catch up with Ali Feeney recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ali, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

Making art and crafts has been a pillar in my childhood that shaped my world and how I approach things. I was always encouraged to try new things and when I was a sophomore in undergrad at Alfred University, I was presented with an opportunity to take Beginning Glass. The class was a huge door opener for me and I shifted from a primarily 2D practice to mostly sculpture. The one major criticisms I had for my time there was I wished for more technical skill development. I felt that I had to play catch up for years to be able to blow glass competently, the focus was primarily conceptual idea generation. From there I followed my passion and practice through several institutions all over the country. The biggest struggle I faced then was a lack of support from the institutions to make living expenses manageable. When I worked at the Chrysler Museum of Art, it was an unpaid assistantship and I was so broke my parents had to help me afford rent. It was very taxing on my mind when I wasn’t sure about how much food I could afford that week. In my opinion, many institutions take advantage of young folks by offering their facilities in exchange for a lot of work. From the Chrysler I went to graduate school at the University of Texas at Arlington and this was an important time for my artistic development and skill building. I graduated Spring 2020 so I didn’t have a show or a graduation it was awful. I didn’t make art for a few months after that since I moved home and didn’t have the drive (my animal crossing island was stunning though). I moved to New York City in the Fall of 2020 with my partner and I decided to message people for work. It was a long shot, but I messaged Deborah Czeresko to see if she needed an assistant and she hired me! She has taken me and built me up and taught me so much of what I know and shared her tricks with me. Deborah is kind and giving with her skills and I will always appreciate her for taking a chance on me and being such a mentor to me. Now I am working on a production glass line and my art practice when I’m not working. It’s a hard grind, I regularly feel exhausted and like I’m burning the candle at both ends but I want to build something for myself. Glass has been my guiding light and I have been chasing that light since 2012.
My current art practice includes blowing glass when I can and needle felting at home.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started working with glass as an undergrad student at Alfred University and worked for the next 12 years chasing that neon rainbow. Currently I am the owner of Nebula Neon where myself and my partner James Akers fabricate neon signs and custom neon components for artists, retailers, television, and so many different industries who need light. I am also in the process of launching my new business venture focusing on glass blown homewares called Mizar and Alcor.

A lot of people come to us to create something out of glass and sign related needs. We have become versatile with different skills that have benefited both our business and the service we provide to our customers. For example, I have been working with the dynamic duo of Home in Heven, Peter DuPont and Breanna Box to create lighting fixtures, one of a kind fashion designs, drinking wares, and all sorts of projects. They have some of the most out of the box (pun intended) ideas that I have never tried in glass or have seen made. My favorite project we did with them was a neon hand bag with Marc Jacobs x Home in Heven. It is always an exciting and challenging work to try new things and to problem solve like I never have before.

Mizar and Alcor is my passion project of bringing the horse girl energy into a fresh, sophisticated design in drinking glasses and vessels. Inspired by their beauty of the horse through their colorings, their breeds, and their histories, I design these glasses to bring the barn home wherever you live. I grew up riding horses and they have given me so much life, however I can’t afford to have a horse but I still want to have horsey things in my life because they bring me joy. There is comfort in knowing that there are thousands of people who believe the same things I do and value horses to the highest level of respect. These animals are my inspiration in life and I wish to bring them into people’s homes.

Between James and I, there’s not much we can’t do and if we can’t do it, we know a person or a lead to get the project done and that is something that makes me very proud. I have been chasing skill mastery and to be competent in a material that demands years of dedication and practice. Glass blowing is my version of meditation through repetition, critical analysis, and seeking out more information when I don’t know the answers.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One of the biggest mindsets that was placed on me when I was in undergrad was “technique is cheap” and I have to regularly contest this idea in my head. Technique is one of the most expensive things I “own” and it is my most valuable asset in my life. I have spent 12 years honing my craft and I know I have such a long journey ahead of me as I improve, learn, and adapt to the material. I have worked hard to ask for what I deserve to be paid and for some reason this is such a huge issue across the board. The arts seem to lack an appreciation for skilled labor and for technical knowledge on materials. Your skills are valuable and deserve to be paid.

The biggest instance of this impacting my life was taking unpaid assistantships and internships. There are too many art institutions that benefit from free labor from young, emerging artists looking for access to studio space, equipment, and materials to create artwork. I was in an unpaid assistantship in Norfolk, VA and it was one of the toughest years of my life. I was paycheck to paycheck working two jobs and the unpaid assistantship that was having me work at minimum 20 hours a week and normally 40 hours a week. If I didn’t have the help of my family, I would have been homeless. I think it is beyond unacceptable for institutions to take advantage of young people who are looking to make a career in the arts. Technique is not cheap, labor should be paid. We would all do better if we acknowledge this.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

One of the best things you can do beyond understanding the social media game is providing the best service you can for everyone who comes to you. Being kind and considerate of each customer’s needs is imperative to your growth. Most of our clients have come from word of mouth and clients referring us to their friends and colleagues.

There was only one client that I worked with where despite my best efforts to be kind, accommodating, and understanding, they were not happy. I believe the whole thing was in part due to a communication breakdown and a failure to meet a middle ground. I had assumed that they understood the material to the scope they said they did and I should have been thorough despite their assurance. The result was a loss in revenue and client however, I gained a lot of insight on better communication methods and how to pick up on signals of frustrations in the client.

Another method that has been effective for us is a bit specific to urban spaces but we would go from store to store that didn’t have any neon and talk to them about signage and if they’re looking for an option. We want to connect with our community because it improves the neighborhood when they’re doing well. If they have good visual power on the streets, then they do better.

Something that we want to work towards implementing is a newsletter catered for the Nebula Neon crowd and for the Mizar and Alcor folks that updates everyone on current projects, sales, relevant information, and other content encouraging folks to read more about us. I also want to improve my social media consistency and content generation with a manageable amount of work. Social media overwhelms me and I need to focus on taking control of the content I make and what platforms I use.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.alifeeney.com
• Instagram: @Ali_feeney
• Other: @nebulaneon www.mizarandalcor.horse

Image Credits
Pilchuck Glass School Home in Heven x Heaven x Marc Jabobs neon bag Felted mountains – My photo Cindy Stein Photography – Glass blowing photo New York Times Saha Arutyunova – Deborah and Ali blowing glass Last three are my photos