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

Alright, Pat thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of our favorite things to hear about is stories around the nicest thing someone has done for someone else – what’s the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?

My teenage years were rough and filled with drugs, violence, and self harm. I felt trapped in an environment that was not servicing me well and wanted nothing more than escape, to whatever means that meant. I dwelled in this pit of despair thinking I would never be able to get out until an unlikely hand reached out for me. My high school art teacher, an amazing artist and mother, saw me for everything I was; all of the good, the bad, the talent, and the potential. She immediately connected with me and challenged me to develop my artistic skills. She taught me the basics of running a kiln, making molds, and fusing glass. She herself was mostly a painter but like any good teacher, she shared the knowledge she had and told me to run with it. When I failed she told me to keep going. When I had a crazy idea she supported me. She taught me how to teach myself, a skill that has carried me through the many difficult years it takes to learn to work with glass. I spent my senior year experimenting and at the end I turned in an 3D AP portfolio that was mostly glass.

When I told her I had no plans to apply for college she made it a part of my grade to go to an information meeting for the Kansas City Art Institute, then proceeded to pressure me into applying. Lo and behold, not only did I get into KCAI, but I was awarded enough scholarships that I could actually afford to attend! This pivotal moment is why I do what I do. I am a sculptor because I went to art school. I work with glass because it is the material I discovered myself through. I am a teacher because I feel its my duty to pass on this passion for creation to anyone who needs it, as my teacher did for me.

At the time I viewed this as a teacher doing what teachers do and nothing special. It is only after becoming a teacher myself that I learned this is what phenomenal, loving, exceptional teachers do. I knew she was having an impact on me but I never imagined the butterfly effect that would unfold, leading me to the happy and healthy life I live today. She saw someone who was drowning, pulled me out of the water, and made me a lifeguard. The collective actions of this teacher over the course of my senior year were the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. She made me an artist.

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.

My name is Pat Langley and I am a non binary sculptor who works predominately with glass. I believe in the importance of arts education, and that every person deserves the opportunity to learn and express themselves through art. I love to travel, and strive to bring love, beauty, and inspiration into others’ lives by promoting creativity.

I got started working with glass in high school. I continued using glass through college and sought out public glass studios to learn at after school. I’ve worked with glass in almost every way possible. I started with kiln forming, then learned furnace glassblowing, cold working, and lampworking. I started teaching art in 2017 and spent the last 2 years as an instructor at the Chrysler Museum Glass Studio. I recently decided to take a break from teaching to focus on building my home studio and small business as an artist. As my brand launches with the new year, I will be focusing on jewelry, tableware, and one of a kind sculptures. My ultimate goal is to take the show on the road and create a mobile lampworking unit to pop up for educational workshops and demos.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the freedom of expression. I have spent years developing the skills to let creativity flow seamlessly into everything I do. I view my hands as magic makers. This branches into every aspect of my life; The way I cook, clean, and dress. The jobs I do, the things I make. I feel confident to express myself and I attribute that to my ability to skills as an artist.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When I discovered glass I was a student in a public high school and by the end of my senior year I knew I wanted to continue to work with this beautiful material. My high school teacher told me the basic knowledge she had about glass and how to run manual kilns and the rest of my experience was self driven. For college, I went to an art school that did not have a glass program. I found myself in a sculpture program with a single automatic kiln. When i asked to use the kiln for glass I was handed the manual and told to figure it out on my own. No one else in the program was working with glass and I was constantly struggling with the judgement that came from working outside the norm, from both students and teachers. Many times people questioned why I was “wasting my time” trying to work with such a difficult material and very little resources to do so. I even had a teacher my senior year the ridiculed me for using techniques she didn’t understand. I spent my college career fighting for access and doing everything I could to work with glass. After college I turned to public studios to learn, but at the time the Midwest glass scene was small and mostly private studios. The only options I had were to intern/volunteer or pay for the access to glass facilities. Since I was a 22 and broke, I opted to volunteer 30-40 hours a week in exchange for a chance to learn more about glass. I did this for almost a year while living with my parents, and was distraught it didn’t lead to a real job. I felt like I was swimming in the middle of the ocean and never getting closer to land. After a while I gave up on glass as a career. I got a retail job to support myself, moved, got my own place, saved money, and after months of hard work I could finally afford to rent studio access for glass. I worked in this manner for while, creating in the evenings and on my days off, paying for studio access, all while still just learning. Glass takes forever to get good at so everything I was making was not product worthy stuff. It wasn’t anything I could make my money back with but I kept going because I love glass. Eventually this work paid off and I was able to build the skills I needed to be a glass artist. Now I can make my own product to sell, make art for the masses, and teach others how to work with my beloved material.

Contact Info:

• Website: patlangley.myportfolio.com
• Instagram: plangthangs

Image Credits
Robin Rogers & Breay Fee