We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Emily Burm. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Emily below.

Hi Emily, thanks for joining 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 took an unconventional approach to learning my art. Rather than art school, or an apprenticeship, or a series of workshops, I made a 4-day pit stop in Oakland, CA while on a cross-country roadtrip.
In high school, I had a dream to be a glass artist. I imagined I’d work with blown glass. But by 2019, while looking into classes and what a hot shop entailed, I realized blown glass would be out of my reach. Luckily, the search into blown glass led me to discover fused glass and the 4-day class that I took in California.
That class was my first time ever working with glass, but the hours flew by. While hunched over my workstation, sifting glass powders and “drawing” with the glass, all I wanted was more time with the material. I’d unearthed a passion and needed more.
In those 4 days, I learned enough to feel comfortable purchasing my own glass and kiln, and I began my adventure!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m a serial job changer, but always a creative. When I first looked into taking a class in glass art, I had just quit my administrative job at a university, and I was about to take off on a road trip with my dog. I signed up for a class that I could take while along the trip route, and after the class, I was sold on the medium.
I’m in love with the possibilities of glass – the ways that the art meets function, the range of transparency, the molten vs. solid, the smooth vs. sharp, the thin, flat waif-like sheets vs. larger than life sculptural glass masses – you get it.
I chose fused glass specifically, rather than blown or stained glass, because it is a combination of the two. I use a torch and melt down glass rods for some of my design elements. I use the heat of the kiln to literally blend small pieces of glass into one single new, original piece of glass. And I cut colors from large glass sheets to create the majority of my composition/piece of work.
Aside from that single 4-day workshop, I have taught myself the craft through experimentation, trial and error, and the internet. At the moment, I’m creating functional glassware forms such as incense holders, bowls, plates, soap dishes, drip plates, spoon rests, etc. in colors and designs that are mid-century modern meets vintage Florida.
I also offer classes! For me, listening to music, cutting glass, and playing with color combinations is therapeutic, and I’m so happy to open my studio to others who would like to connect with their own creative sides.
But even without taking a class with me, I’m providing truly functional art and a form of color therapy and happiness to each of my customers. I can’t count the number of times someone has said, “The colors you use, I don’t know what it is, they just speak right into my soul. It just makes me happy when I look at your work.”
Honestly, I’m not sure what it is either. But the colors and designs do come from my soul too, from someplace in my memories and in my bones, and I’m just so proud to have the ability to connect with people through my art. Especially since I can be shy about speaking out loud.
Through my fused glass, I’ve found that I’m sharing and communicating with people, through the colors and feelings that the pieces evoke, rather than through words.
And in discovering a way to connect with my community through art, I’ve also noticed a shift in myself. A shift that is more calm, grounded, happy and satisfied. Diving into the world of fused glass has given me not only a sense of purpose, but also a new language to communicate through.
I’m a glass artist! And I think it’s brought an end to this creative’s serial job-shifting.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

There’s no time in life for living on the back burner. Not only do I strive to live my own life this way – pursuing my passions rather than save them for when there’s more time or money. But I’ve also made it a mission to inspire that sense of adventure and fulfillment in others.
I hope that my story of diving into glass and art because I love it, not because I knew it would all pan out, can give other creatives who might be struggling to take the plunge, permission to go for it.
Because just like I believe that you’ll never have regrets if you surround yourself with things that you love, I also believe you’ll never regret trying out the life that you believe in for yourself.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think non-creatives might struggle to understand that for me, I find security in the uncertainty. I think there can be a misunderstanding that the monetary and security payoffs should be the same for me as they might be for someone in a traditional career.
For some, I think a clear end goal can help to push them forward – that a secure path along the way can help them to keep moving toward the goal and alleviate the stress of uncertainty.
However, the idea of certainty deflates me to the point of depression. A clear end goal feels like THE END. It feels like, if I know how it’ll all turn out, then what am I along this journey for?
Taking a creative journey gives me something to learn about myself and the world every day. It gives me a chance to take in the effects of my actions. It allows me to pivot. Each day is like a mini adventure, full of surprises, and I don’t think I could keep going if it were any other way.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.pinktikiglassdesigns.com
• Instagram: @pinktikiglassdesigns
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/pinktikiglassdesigns