We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Amy Voss a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Amy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us 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.

I’m a self taught artist, and I’ve been creating with glass for over 12 years now. I learn something new every time I start a new guitar. The process from start to finish takes about 2 1/2 weeks, and over the years I’ve tried so many different ways to speed things up. From cutting the glass all at once, to cutting as I go, grouting one way or another – at the end of the day it didn’t matter which option I chose, what I’ve learned is, you can’t speed up the process. There may be different ways to do things, but each takes the same amount of time and patience. Over the years I’ve gotten faster at doing certain things, but each guitar has its own design, which means the process for each one is a little different, and if I hadn’t learned all the options over the years, I wouldn’t be able to have various creative methods for each one. All those different methods are part of what makes each piece so unique and special.

Amy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

After graduating from SMU, I worked in the music industry as a record promoter for Lyric Street Records, then as an Affiliate Relations Director for ESPN Radio, and finally the ABC Television Network. After leaving my 10yr corporate career to take on the challenges of motherhood, I found a passion in glass art and I focused my efforts on a particular canvas; the body of an acoustic guitar. It gave me the ability to forge my lifelong love of music into something tangible, unique and with the beauty of glass. It hasn’t been an easy road, after 12 years I feel like I’m finally hitting my stride and getting my work noticed. That’s been the most difficult part of the journey – sticking with it, believing in my work, being ok with the fact that it’s not like everything else out there in the art world, and betting on the belief that one day others will love and appreciate it the way that I do. It’s more rewarding than anything I’ve ever done (besides parenthood!) – being able to create something that someone else will enjoy forever. Music gives us soundtracks that commemorate moments in our life, and I like the fact that my guitars are a way to represent those moments. Whether its someone’s favorite band whose concert was where they met their significant other, or a sports team that they’ve been a lifelong fan of, or an abstract design that speaks to them in some way – whatever it is, it’s personal to them, and it’s something they can hang on their wall and be in that moment forever. I get the chance to create that for them, and I’m beyond grateful for that.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

When I was first starting out, before social media was such a big resource for artists, business owners, etc, I knew I had to do art shows/festivals in order to gain exposure for my work. For years I was told no, each show I applied to, every gallery I reached out to, the answer was always no. It’s such a difficult answer to hear and constantly causing me to question my abilities, my worth, and whether or not what I was doing was a complete waste of time. But I believed in my work, I believed in potential, and loved that it was different and unique and I knew one day it would be worth it. So I took the no’s, and I kept working, kept creating, kept putting it out there, until the no’s turned to yes’s. In 12 years there have been, and still are, far more no’s than yes’s, but each positive response far outweighs all the negative, proving that there’s a place for everyone – no matter what business you’re in. If you believe in your soul that what you’re doing is special, then there’s a place for it.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I had pushed myself to reach out to others in the art world as a resource early on in my journey. I never thought I was good enough as an “artist” to be called one, so I never put myself out there in order to get to know other artists and creatives. It has come to be my biggest resource. Despite our different mediums, we all go through a journey, have the same feelings and doubts, highs and lows, and having someone to share those with and bounce things off of is invaluable. It keeps you propelling forward because you don’t feel so alone in your efforts. In any industry, regardless of what you’re doing, having a community to do it with is vital.

Contact Info:

• Website: glassaxes.com
• Instagram: glass.axes
• Facebook: Facebook.com/glassaxes