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

Robert, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

i had been a performing singer songwriter for many years. Loved making music but wore out on the music business.
i took a workshop about making a lamp from a bottle and the process and artistic possibilities hit home with me
I had always had an artistic bent with form and color and the possibility of creating art in the medium of lamp making excited and intrigued me.
I already had a collection of items that i thought i could incorporate and had a background in using tools so it was up to me to figure out how to forge ahead.
i started with making some smaller lamps with cobalt blue beer bottles. i didn’t know at that time if i was going to make a lot of a few things. I realized fairly early on that i wanted to take recycled and repurposed items and make art with them.

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

i had been a performing singer songwriter for many years. Loved making music but wore out on the music business.
i took a workshop about making a lamp from a bottle and the process and artistic possibilities hit home with me
I had always had an artistic bent with form and color and the possibility of creating art in the medium of lamp making excited and intrigued me.
I already had a collection of items that i thought i could incorporate and had a background in using tools so it was up to me to figure out how to forge ahead.
i started with making some smaller lamps with cobalt blue beer bottles. i didn’t know at that time if i was going to make a lot of a few things. I realized fairly early on that i wanted to take recycled and repurposed items and make art with them.
I work with metal, glass, stone and anything i see as a possibility for artistic expression.
My lamps are all one or two of a kind. Each project is an adventure in creativity as i often don’t know exactly where i’m going with it as i work. I might try 20 different pieces to find the perfect transition piece for that lamp.
i am driven by a sense of aesthetics as well as the practical importance of light in our life.
i have a broken glass series that is made from pieces that have broken in drilling or otherwise and can yet still creative beautiful functional art.
i also make custom pieces from client’s own materials or materials of mine that they choose. This can be very rewarding for both of us.
For instance i made a pair of wall sconces where the theme was fans. The client sent me the fans and i created a wall sconce with the fan as shade. It was challenging as the fans were very thin so i figure out a way to attach them to the frame with magnets.
One feature that really adds to the lamps are the battery led lights that are in some of them that help bring out the beauty of the glass.
i make table lamps and floor lamps mostly but have made some hanging lamps and wall sconces.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the joy of creation.
Seeing disparate materials come together to make an artistic piece
is highly rewarding.
Seeing people react to that creation is kind of the icing on the cake.

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.

So many people say that they don’t have artistic talent.
i believe everyone does but we are told that only some people
are born with it.
I think that you have to believe in it and practice it.
If you have a thought about artistic creation you should
do whatever you can to bring that into reality no matter what
other people say or what your conflicting inner voice says about
the practicality of doing so.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.reclaimedluminosity.com
• Instagram: @reclaimedluminosity
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reclaimedluminosity
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/brokenpretzel