Michael Glancy discusses studio glass artists “sharing it all.” Oral history interview with Michael Glancy by Barb Elam, conducted via telephone, October 9, 2018, Bard Graduate Center. Clip length: 01:19.

Michael Glancy: When we’re teaching ourselves, we’re blatantly honest, because the entire mythology is to not share—that’s the tradition. That’s the big problem with Venice now; they just had the GAS [Glass Art Society] conference in Murano, and the Venetians were very reluctant to let the world into their studios because they’re still trapped in this non-sharing mentality. We share it all. And the Europeans don’t think we do, like Ulrica [Vallien]—or they’d be—watching me teach a class on electroforming and saying, ‘Oh, you’re telling them almost everything, but not everything.’ And I tell people everything. And to me, that’s the motivation. I mean, I want to h—I want to feel people biting at my heels. It’s the only way I can stay valid. And so Americans don’t—the ones I know—don’t hide this stuff. We share it. Totally. And you know, I’m gonna test that theory soon. I test it all the time by asking someone how to do something, and they’ve always shared their experiences. Totally. You know, it doesn’t seem to be proprietary the way it is in a lot of places.