Today we’d like to introduce you to Jose Ugas
Hi Jose, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Growing up in Miami, I was lucky to be surrounded by creativity, both in the people around me and the city itself. The city’s rich culture and vibrant street art sparked my passion for exploring and building—two things that still shape my work today. In 2018 I left Miami to attend the California College of the Arts in Oakland, CA. There studying under Clifford Rainey I found my love and passion for glass, as a sculptor and moldmaker glass was such a mysterious material that it became such a corner stone of my artistic practice and lead me to other artist such as The Del La Torre brothers for inspiration. After returning to Miami post-pandemic and working with artist William Cordova and Robert Stern I find myself as the Studio Coordinator at The Benzaiten Center of the Creative Arts, Lake Worth Beach, FL. Most recently returning from a session at the Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, WA. Today I continue pursuing my own practice of communicating relationships through glass and creating objects that hold space for those relationships while also sharing the experience of glass to the community at large.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being a sculptor some challenges come from bringing my vision into a 3d space, to communicate and translate my work with a material as difficult to use as glass. Much of my works themes and elements come from communicating relationship from those around me and my community so reflecting and being able to have those continuous conversations have always brought their own struggles. Even practicing this artform is difficult when you think about what it takes to manage and run a furnace constantly over 2000 degrees, it’s not everywhere you can find a facility that caters to that but I’ve been fortunate to find myself with an organization that does lend its equipment, space, and time to artist that work in glass here in South Florida.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a glass artist that works primarily in casted and blown glass. Much of my work deals with how we define relationships and connections while bringing a sense of honesty and vulnerability to the world we live in today. Using imagery such as pipes and conduits to create networks and the creation of characters as an elements of self in the work. My series “Under Construction” is a collection of work dealing with these subjects and the evolution of these themes has been something I’ve held in close regard with how I view my work today. Now most of my work is focused on a core casting technique with a combination of hot glass sculpting to create these pieces.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Don’t be afraid to draw inspiration from all corners of your experience. For much of my early career the idea of finding something that was unique to me overshadowed much of the actual process. It wasn’t until I learned to draw on other forms of inspiration and use it as a starting point to work that my process began to form. The wants and whys of my art came into focus as well. My artistic voice was developed the same as my skills and practice.
Contact Info:
