TEXARKANA, Texas - James Hayes comes across as a friendly, easygoing fellow, gently humorous. However, his work as a glass artist is a matter of the utmost seriousness to him.
He got his start 33 years ago and has a shop in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He does shows all around the region.
On Thursday, he was in Texarkana, doing one at JBrown For The Home at 121 College Drive, just off State Line Avenue.
As a child, he learned to work with tools, materials and developed craftsmanship skills at his family's dental practice.
"Working in my Dad's clinic, I got started on casting, sculpting, fine work with tools," he said. "I use a diamond dental bit to sign my work."
Hayes describes what he does as a passion, something he is very serious about, as well as something upon which he deeply focuses.
"I've worked in other mediums," he said. "In glass-work, you have to master other skill sets to do this. But glass is my focus."
Hayes describes himself as a simple man.
"I have lots of interests, but I go 100% when working with glass," he said. "When I finish a project, I am exhausted. Every day working is a workout. I get started around 7 a.m., typically, and when the end of the day comes, at 5:30 p.m., I am worn out."
Working with tools, blowing glass, playing with fire, working with heat, lifting heavy materials and handling them carefully, it takes someone physically conditioned to do it well, Hayes said.
And it does not end at the end of the week.
"My work, which involves shows as well as the shop work, often involves my weekends, too," he said.
Hayes is a graduate of Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas, with a degree in art. Since building his practices, he has taken on four apprentices who help run his operations and are at various stages of learning the skills of the trade.
"When I work with a partner, it is like a dance," he said. "We have to work closely together and know each other's steps, not step on each other's toes. This takes coordination as well as conditioning, strength and know-how."