Bigfork artist's work blends metal and glass
<p>A set of tools laid out and ready for use on Monday, February 11, in Lee Proctor's studio in Bigfork. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Detail of a protractor Lee Proctor used this to set the angle of the large, sand-filled tray as he prepared to pour molten glass into shape on Monday, February 11, at his studio in Bigfork. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Lee Proctor reheats glass in the glory hole furnace as he blows a bulb on Friday, February 15, at his studio in Bigfork. For the making of this piece Proctor will use three furnaces, the crucible, which holds the molten glass, the glory hole for reheating, and finally an annealer which will allow the finished piece to cool slowly so it is less likely to crack. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Lee Proctor gathers a glob of molten glass from the furnace in his studio as he begins the process of blowing a glass bulb on Friday, February 15, at his studio in Bigfork. Proctor is currently working on a number of pieces for the upcoming Of the Earth display which will be on display at the Hockaday Museum from late February to mid-April. Of the Earth will feature work from 11 artists and the opening reception, which is free and open to the public, will be held on Thursday, February 28 from 5-7 p.m. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>A set of tools laid out and ready for use on Monday, February 11, in Lee Proctor's studio in Bigfork. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Lee Proctor uses a torch and the force of gravity to make the final adjustments to the shape of a bulb he has blown on Friday, February 15, at his studio in Bigfork. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Lee Proctor uses a torch to make the final adjustments to the shape of a bulb he has blown on Friday, February 15, at his studio in Bigfork. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Lee Proctor prepares the colors he will add to a bulb he is blowing on Friday, February 15, at his studio in Bigfork. For this particular piece Proctor will use four layers of color by gently rolling a glob or molten glass into the colored granules then reheating the glass so the colors melt into to glass. This particular project calls for the use of one of the most expensive colors, Uranium Green. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>From left, Brian Moore, Lee Proctor and Doug Engle make the final preparations for pouring a large piece of glass that will be part of the waterfall Proctor is preparing for the Of the Earth show on Monday, February 11, in Bigfork. Beside Proctor is the styrofoam form they will press into the sand to create the pattern for the glass to be poured into. With such a large piece cracks in the glass are a threat to every piece poured. In the background (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Lee Proctor works on shaping glass on Friday, February 15, at his studio in Bigfork. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
The artist in Lee Proctor didn’t wake up until after high school. After that there was no turning back.
Proctor, of Bigfork, is well-known in the art world for his unusual creations that combine forged metal and glass into pieces ranging from outdoor sculptures to one-of-a-kind chandeliers.
“Experimenting is a lot of what we do,” he said. “I rarely repeat a design. Each piece is unique. It keeps it interesting.”
Proctor said his pathway to art began in Florida in 1972 when his mother gave him a camera for his high school graduation. Before that he was just another kid, chasing lizards and swimming along the banks of Chesapeake Bay near his boyhood home in Virginia, and not thinking about art in the least.
“I slept through art class in junior high,” he recalled.
That camera snapped something more than pictures.
“It changed my way of looking at the world,” Proctor said. “I studied light, shadow and composition. The colors of the seas were a constant inspiration.”
Proctor didn’t immediately see a career in art, though. He was looking for more of a practical trade. As a boy he’d had a horse in Virginia, and he rode all the time.
As he watched farriers in his neighborhood shoe horses, he thought that might be something he could do for a living. So he got some training to be a horseshoer. That led to architectural work and metal sculpting.
But before he became a full-fledged artist, he followed his heart to the West, intrigued by a small pamphlet about Flathead Valley Community College he came across while researching colleges in western states. He settled into Bigfork in 1975 and took every class he could at FVCC, from creative writing to sculpture.
“Being in the power of the seasons and the magnificence of the pristine Montana landscape, I was transformed and knew from then on my life would be involved in the study of making art,” he said.
He finished his art degree in New York and returned to his beloved Flathead Valley, built a studio and began working mostly on commission, building site-specific, one-of-a-kind sculptures in forged metals.
A decade ago he added glass to his work after attending Pilchuck Glass School, an international center for glass art education in Stanwood, Wash. There he learned the basics of hot casting and glassblowing. Proctor returned to Bigfork, built a “hot shop” and began exploring new glass techniques, combining blown glass with forged metals.
“I could see the possibilities are endless,” he said.
Proctor has assembled a team of talented assistants to help him. Brian Moore is his main glass assistant, while Nate Adoretti works on both metal and glass. Mark Manning helps with metal pieces and is learning the glass end of the business.
At 59, Proctor is right where he wants to be, doing what he loves.
“My whole adult life has been wrapped around art,” he said.
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.