People didn't believe it when he said he was going to go to New Zealand to surf and blow glass for a year, but that is what he did-- almost. It turned out that Kyle wasn't ready to leave behind glass after a year had passed. He decided to stay for another year of glass school at Wanganui Polytec, where he earned his certificate in glass design and production. By this point, he had fallen in love with the material, and there was no turning back.
Kyle's attraction to glass work was tied to an underlying passion for adventure and beauty; this passion was fueled by both his exploration of glass and by other irreplaceable experiences with the people and places he encountered during his travels. The decision was made to continue traveling to countries that would educate him in various designs and approaches to glass.
Sweden was Kyle's next stop. He was accepted into the Glass Design program at Kalmar University, where he was privileged to work with some of the best designers in Scandanavia. This led to travel throughout Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. Having already visited and worked in more studios than most glass blowers do in a lifetime, Kyle then returned to his home country and began working as a gaffer, assistant, and designer at the Bandon Glass Art Studio on the beautiful south coast of Oregon. Kyle couldn't be kept in one place for long, and after a year, he went from the scenic cool waters of the North Pacific to the warm bustling shores of Singapore. In Singapore, he worked for the architectural glass company Synagraphic as a gaffer, assistant, and designer, making installations for homes, hotels, restaurants, and palaces throughout Southeast Asia. After his visa ran out, Kyle was off to the sunny beaches of Australia for more adventures and a new perspective on glass. Kyle spent several months traveling and working in various studios throughout Australia, but eventually settled in Sydney to work as the head gaffer at Diffuse Glassworks, an architectural glass lighting company. Mornings were spent surfing while afternoons and evenings were spent sweating with his mistress: the glass furnace. Eventually Kyle returned to Portland, but for just a few years before he left for a place with glass he had dreamt about for many years: Japan. Kyle spent several months sampling the craft, culture, and glass of Japan. This experience was highlighted by having the opportunity to work with Japanese glass artist Hiroshi Yamano. Finally, he made his way back to his home town of Portland, Oregon, where he is currently working.
If you have ever been to Oregon, you would understand why nature has such a strong influence on Kyle's work. The curl of a breaking wave. The curve of a woman's hip. These two things, the ocean and the human form, are two of the most visually apparent influences in Kyle's work. "The true artist to which no one can compare is mother nature herself," says Kyle. "No one can compete with the pattern in a leaf or the colors of the sea." Smooth, simple line and form true to the nature of the material are what one will find expressed in both the shapes and color of Kyle's work. While his glass is not pretentious or tedious, Kyle still finds new ways to challenge the material: Along with line and form, Kyle likes to introduce visual and physical texture to his work. Don't be surprised to see him melt metal into his glass to create chemical reactions or plunge molten glass into cold water and then take a hammer to the cracked surface to expose swirls of color hidden beneath.
Glass has taken Kyle all over the world, and each piece he makes is made with a world of knowledge and experience that few other glass blowers have had. Kyle's work is a unique culmination of his experiences. Not just the countless number of artists he has worked with, but the people he has met, and the natural beauty of the places he has lived. Kyle makes glass you want to reach out and touch. You want not only to look at it, but to look into it, and share in the rich array of experiences, the reverence for nature, the passion for adventure, and beauty of the glass itself, all of which come through in every piece Kyle makes.
Some things cross the boundaries of the senses. People talk about sounds you can see and colors you can smell. That is what glass is like for Kyle Kraiter. Long before he started working with had blown glass, he could see a piece and almost feel it and taste it in his mouth. This early attraction to the material led Kyle on a journey he could have never predicted.
In May of 2000, Kyle received his psychology degree, but before Kyle went to get his masters of social work, he thought he would take a year off from school to travel and try glass blowing. Little did he know how this would affect his psychology career.
