Covington Eric

Article by Francis Racine
The Journal September 09, 2015

The thought that he would be creating masterpieces out of liquid glass never even crossed Eric Covington's mind during his younger days.

At one point in his life, however, the hustle and bustle of life's stringent requirements' all came to an end. "I retired in 2004, that's when I started rock carving," he says, grinning through his beard. "I had always been
a rock collector. Then I turned to carving jade, which is a tedious task.''

The artist explains that the beautiful green material is extremely challenging to work with and that the finished piece is made to be held, not exposed, "Jade is more of a Zen thing,'' he explains."It's hard to put on a hard surface after you work a piece. The bottom is rarely flat.''

But while he loved jade, his first experience with glass blowing made quite an impression. "After 20 minutes, I was addicted.''

From there, Covington explains that his mistress, a suitable name he has given to his artistic hobby, takes up a lot of his time. "What I appreciate about working with glass is that, unlike jade, it doesn't take you over one thousand hours to complete,'' he observes. He also stresses that a piece of glass usually has to be finished in one sitting. '' "When you start, you must finish it or else it's ruined.''

But although he might make it look easy, the artist emphasizes that color, one of the many things that make glass working so popular, is probably the most challenging aspect of its creation. "Every color has a different melting point,'' he remarks."For example, if I work with white and black, I'll have my work cut out for me. The black will be nearly all melted but the white will still be hard. Darker colors attract the heat,''

When asked how long one must work on a piece in order to have it completed Covington chuckles before answering "seven years and an hour.'' Experience is quite an important asset to the genre and so is focus.

"When I'm working on a piece, there's no one else in the room,'' he admits."A bomb could go off in my studio and I wouldn't budge.''
The artist offers several classes to eager and curious artists in the making, from his Alexandria studio. "We have kids coming in with ADHD. But when they start glass blowing, they calm down. It's as if the ADHD disappears:'
The studio, named Priest Mill Glasswork, is located right off the town's main artery and has been operated and owned by Covington since 2011.

"I used to be what they call a weekend warrior, doing glass working on weekends in little places I'd rent,'' he highlights."Bur one day, I decided I wanted something different. I started looking for a place to rent.''

The artist's criteria-for a suitable workplace included cement flooring, twelve-foot ceilings as well as its proximity to his residence. The Alexandria location boasts 'everything he needed but also more. It features a showroom, which boasts of several different art pieces. "Although the majority of our showcase is made up of glass-related objects, we also have paintings and many other different art genres,'' he notes."We're
currently working on making it into a unique gallery:'

The workplace attracts individuals from here and elsewhere. "We get a lot of people from Toronto and Montreal. But we also welcome individuals from the United States.''

Covington also rents out his premises to fellow glass-blowing teachers. "They love it, simply because there are a lot of custom tools in there, which they might not own.''

The man, along with other glass blowing experts, teaches small classes to anyone who's interested in learning the trade. "We like to have small classes of four people. It's a great family activity. We also always make sure you're safe,'' he notes. "Glass blowing is much more than just art,'' acknowledges the artist. ''It's an addiction!"

Covington's studio is located at 16 Mill Square and is open to the public.