Studio visit: glass artists Nick and Heather McCaig
“I never get bored with glass. It’s been three years and I feel like I’ve barely started scraping the surface.” - Nicholas McCaig
Nick and Heather McCaig are the dynamic duo behind Clairvoyant Art Glass. He makes the bulk of the glasswork; she deals with the photography and internet and has also started learning the delicate art of glass. They create one-of-a-kind pieces, from pendants and sculptures to spheres and vases, each fashioned with care. They live in a log cabin beside their studio, both of which are nestled in the green rolling hills on a piece of land owned by well-known artists Peter and Beth Powning. While some might find the isolation intimidating, especially when getting out in the winter is only possible with skis or snowshoes, these two thrive on the creativity that flows from few distractions combined with being surrounded by natural beauty. Clearly it is working for them, as Clairvoyant Art Glass is slowly but surely making its presence known in the Maritime region and beyond for top quality glass pieces. These two creative entrepreneurs are just getting started.
I met Nick years ago at Camp Medley where I was a staff and he was a camper, and where he later worked for several years. Nick actually had a hand in the beginning of CreatedHere, since it was after reconnecting with him at a craft fair in Fredericton that I got the idea! This interview was a family affair, as my mom and my two girls came along for the ride. It turned out to be a very winding one on the backroads of rural New Brunswick - so much so that I had to pull over before my two-year-old got carsick. Thankfully it wasn’t much further and after driving down a long dirt road we finally arrived to their cozy home and custom studio.
We spent a lovely few hours visiting with them, chatting in the studio and over lunch. We got acquainted with their dog named Jazz, and a lone chicken which Sophie chased mercilessly, hollering “cocoricooo!”. They gave us a tour of their lush vegetable garden, from which they gather most of their veggies for the winter- garlic, onions, tomatoes, beans, etc. The visit was lovely. Glass is fascinating! Nick treated us to a demonstration, in which he made an elegant gold-fumed vase using a gold nugget mined in Nova Scotia. Who knew fired gold turns glass a beautiful shade of pink? It was amazing to watch as he alternated between shaping and heating, a seamless dance between the creator and ultra-hot fire, resulting in newly-birthed beauty. I was sure he’d burn himself with the way he was weaving in and out of the burning hot torch flame as he shaped the vase, but he obviously had learned his craft to the point where it was instinctual. It was a treat to see the magic in action. We had a little peek into their world and it is easy to see that they are in their element. Nature is both inspiration and sustenance for Nick and Heather, and they embodied its generosity as they shared of themselves, their art and their home with us.
How did you become a glass artist?
When Heather and I started seeing each other a few years ago, I studied philosophy in university but had stopped because I couldn’t afford it anymore. Heather wanted to go back to school in Ontario and I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I had had a taste of making my own money after I stopped university, when I randomly started making tye-dye T-shirts and selling them at the market. It felt really good to be my own boss instead of relying on someone else for my paycheck and I realized that’s what I wanted. I was always interested in glass and how it worked but couldn’t find anyone to show me how to do it. Heather suggested I take this glassblowing course in Ontario. There I learned the old Italian way of doing it, which is a much different process than what I am doing now, which I taught myself after that course.
Why glass?
I figured it must be difficult because no one does it. I wanted something really challenging that would keep me interested. I came to realize that part of the reason no one does it is because it is also really expensive to buy the equipment to get started. You can’t just start dabbling with it for twenty bucks. But it’s worth it, and I love it.
What do you need to make a piece? How does it work?
You start with glass tubes or solid rods of glass and we use colour rods to apply colour depending on what we want. You just melt them together in a million different ways, you pull thin strands and make patterns, or stack dots of colours. It’s all about melting a blob and melting different things into it. Each colour can behave differently so you have to learn their intricacies. One technique is to put the dots on the outside of a hollow form and flip it inside out, then the dots are on the inside and you close it off.
Note* These rods consist of the accumulation of the end bits of each piece made by Nick and Heather over the years. They are beautiful in themselves and could easily be used as decoration! While he has no use for them, Nick said they represent a history of their work, and he can see the progression based on the colours they were using at different times. “See this orange? I haven’t used that in ages.” I was fascinated by them. Nick and Heather were generous and let my mom and I each take one home. I use mine in a vase, alone or with flowers, twigs, etc. Love it!
What is it like working together?
Nick: It’s awesome. We get along, we know each other really well. It’s all about communication.
Heather: It’s great. We’ve learned a lot. We know what we want so it’s easy to work together. We can just look at our stock and agree on what we need to do, then just do it.
Nick: We both work hard so it’s not that awkward thing when someone is slacking. We both pull our own weight.
Heather: It helps that we built it up together. I didn’t just come into it halfway, even though I was working with pottery at first. I know how everything with the company works.
What does a normal day look like?
Nick: Every morning we get to see what we worked on the day before because it just finished cooling off in the kiln. So that is a great motivation to get to the studio in the morning to see how it turned out. It’s like Christmas morning every day! Usually, if I’m on the ball, I’ll just start working in the morning, have lunch, and work all afternoon until supper.
Heather: Depending on what’s in the kiln, I’ll start taking pictures right away and posting them online. My morning might be internet stuff, then in the afternoon I’ll do glass.
Nick: Summer is different because of craft fairs and festivals. Also it just gets so hot in here that some days we can’t work. But in the winter, we’re in the zone. The studio warms up nicely and we can focus. Monday to Friday I’ll do good eight hour days. Being secluded out here for so long without any distractions is really good for our creativity.
What inspires you?
Nick: I draw a lot of inspiration from the natural world: stones, geology, light and water, the way light plays on everything, on ice, on snow crystals… . I also really like abstract patterns, things that don’t look specifically like something else.
Heather: The natural world for sure - I do a lot of branches and leaves. We get inspired by looking at what other glass artists are doing online. There are crazy guys in the States who make such beautiful things; they make us want to try new things.
Nick: Music inspires me too. I listen to everything from 1950s jazz to more recent albums. Sometimes it’s hip-hop, other times it’s reggae, sometimes it’s really chill and mellow… it just depends on the day. Music helps with the flow of making a piece.
What is the biggest challenge you face as an artist?
Nick: Trying to sell stuff. It’s not the creating that’s hard, we’re finding selling is half the job. People don’t really know about the type of glass we make, they don’t know why it’s more expensive than cheap sh*t from China and have a hard time justifying spending more money on it. They say “Cool, there’s a jellyfish in that!” and I say, “If you can find one other person in Atlantic Canada who knows how that jellyfish got in there you can have it for free!“
What are you most proud of?
Heather: I’d say where our business is right now. Nick is 25, I’m 23 and we’ve been self-employed without other jobs for three years now. And we’re debt-free.
Nick: I think that is our biggest accomplishment, doing our own thing, working for ourselves, and doing it without a pile of debt. We’re just living the dream!
Heather: It’s like we’re already retired! This year things are finally starting to come together. People are slowly starting to recognize who we are, to hear about what we’re doing. It feels really good. There were definitely times that were difficult, when I wanted to get a job to make ends meet, but we’re really proud of where we are and how we got here.
Find out more about Nick and Heather: