William Penn Life, 1999 (34. évfolyam, 2-12. szám)
1999-05-01 / 5. szám
What he creates can be ruined in an instant, but, for this member, nothing can break A Heart of Glass The true artist is a prisoner. While not physically confined behind iron bars, he lives imprisoned by his insatiable desire to create, to free that which lives in his mind, his heart, his soul. No external force or circumstance can loose him from the bonds of his art. For the artist, freedom lies in serving what imprisons him—his muse. Frank Horvath is a prisoner. "I am a prisoner to glass blowing," says the 63-year-old member of WPA Branch 590 Cape Coral, Fla. His words perhaps explain best why Frank has been creating with glass for 50 years. And, perhaps only those words can explain why he remains a glass blower despite inevitable burns, seemingly endless working hours and the loss a decade ago of nearly everything he owned. Frank now lives and works in Lakeland, Fla. But, his life as a glass blower began with the fascination of a young Hungarian boy. The young apprentice He was born June 26,1935, on the outskirts of Budapest, the son of a chemist. When Frank was nine years old, his father took him to the university where he worked. "I saw By John E. Lovász the glass blowers making these wonderful things, and I fell in love with it," he says. "It looked glamorous." After that, Frank told his father he wanted to be a glass blower. Four years later, at the age of 13, Frank began his three-year apprenticeship as a scientific glass blower. At 16, he was working full-time creating complicated and delicate equipment for universities and industry, everything from coils to water purification systems. He eventually earned the designation of master glass blower, officially recognizing his skills and abilities. In 1956, he and his wife Catherine fled Hungary, going first to Austria, then England, and then Canada. The Horvaths emigrated to the United States Dec. 27,1959, so Frank could accept a job in Evanston, 111., with instrument maker H. S. Martin. After working about 18 years for several companies, Frank could no longer resist his muse. He had always spent much of his spare time creating artistic glassware. Now, the artist in him was taking over the direction of his life. Frank Horvath has practiced the art of glass blowing for 50 years. He opened his own glass shop in Gilman, 111., about 90 miles from Chicago. There he left behind the world of scientific glassware and devoted his time and efforts to creating what was in his heart and his mind. Beauty and fragility Life glistened like the glass bells, flowers and animals Frank created. While Frank worked in his shop, he and Catherine raised their six children. The Horvaths had a beautiful home with several acres of land. They also owned a condo in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, close to where they had opened a gift shop displaying Frank's glass. But, like blown glassware, life is fragile as well as beautiful. Business at the Tennessee store was poor. "People can be a little lazy. The store was on the second floor. I think that was my big mistake, not having it on the ground floor. No one wanted to walk up to see it," he says. 6 William Penn Life. May 1999
