Interview with a foreign student Steve Pflipsen from USA.

Steve, where did you come from to our school and what did you do before?

I grew up near Minneapolis, Minnesota and I studied glass and ceramics at the University of Wisconsin from 1997 to 2002. I graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. At the university I studied off-hand as well as kiln and cold working techniques. In 2000 I worked and studied at Studio Glasshyattan in Ahus, Sweden working in the hotshop and cutting shop for Hanne Dreutler and Arthur Zirnsack. Since then I have been working for Dick Huss Glass Studio and Gallery in St. Paul, Minnesota also in the hotshop and coldshop.

Why did you come to study to Kamenický Šenov school and how did you get the information about the possibility to study in Kamenický Šenov?

I had met František Janák in the United States on two occasions once as a student at the Pittsburgh Glass Center and once in the year 2003 as his assistant there. I had told him I was looking for somewhere to work or study glass in Europe but especially in the Czech Republic. He then informed me I would be able to study at the school in Železný Brod. After knowing that he would be teaching at Kamenický Šenov he thought it would be a good opportunity to study at both schools. I had been interested in glass cutting and had decided that the Czechs and Czech machines were the best in the world.

Tip: click to enlarge pictures

What did you expect and how your expectations were filled?

I expected to be studying in a school where I would have access to machines, methods, ideas and teachers that I didn't have access to in the US. And here I was able to experience them all but for too short of a time.

Would you recommend our school to the other students in your country and why?

Yes, I would it is an opportunity to study in a beautiful country in a learning environment that we cannot find in the USA.

Would you like to come again and what would you like to do in here?

Of course that I would like to come back. I would like to continue studying cutting and mold making as well as trying a bit of engraving.

Steve, thank you for the interview and we wish you all the best in your work after your arrival back home!

You are welcome and thank you too!