English Springer Spaniel
Best of Opposite Sex Trophy
Drill Engraved
David Frye lives in Oxford, NY, where he has a studio next to his house. He graduated from East Carolina University with a BS degree in Art, minoring in printmaking and drawing. He and his wife, Susan, moved from North Carolina to New York in 1989.
He primarily does glass engraving now, but still does a number of mostly commissioned pencil and color pencil drawings, as well as some metalpoint or silverpoint drawings. The subjects of his drawings are portraits of people, their pets, scenes from nature (including wildlife & waterfalls), architectural drawings of old ruined buildings and of peoples homes, and he enjoys playing with surreal and imaginary subjects.
The majority of his time is spent with engraving glass. Most of his work is commissioned. He utilizes three types of engraving and etching. Drill engraving consumes most of his time, and can be done on almost any type of glas. He utilizes micromotors and diamond burs for the majority of his work. Think of the tools a dentist uses…
Stipple engraving is the second type of engraving he utilizes. It is best done on full lead crystal or optic crystal. The technique is performed with a tungsten carbide needle or a steel shaft with a tiny diamond adhered to the tip. The image is created by very gently tapping the glass with the needle, which is held in a pin vice, to create almost invisible dots or scratches in the glass. Many overlays of dots and scratches eventually lead to an image over a period of weeks or months.
Sandblasting and etching cream are utilized especially when letters and words are required. He has used a combination of drill, stipple, and sandblasting/etching cream on some pieces.
Please feel free to contact David to set up an appointment to commission a piece of engraved glass or a drawing, or to just drop by his studio to look at the various processes. You can also find him at the Hamilton Farmers Market, in the Village of Hamilton, NY, most Saturdays from early May through the end of October.