Daily Inspiration: Meet Mike da Ponte

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike da Ponte.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois’ northwest suburbs. I had a conventional childhood but being adopted was the one thing that always I felt separated me from my friends. My mother is white and Canadian, while my father’s family immigrated to Canada when he was a child from Portugal. They are now both citizens of the US.

I remember when I was little people would always say to my dad, “he looks like you,” mainly because he has a darker complexion, but we honestly don’t look much alike aside from our skin color. This lack of personal identity is kind of what drove me to create over time. I would say as far back as I can remember, I have always been very curious about my origin story.

I’m a curious person in general. But growing up I always felt like that small piece of me was missing being surrounded by my friends and even family who looked like their parents and siblings. I believe that this individual search for my own identity has helped steer the narratives in my own body of work. Working with glass has helped me understand who I am as a person and it continues to test my abilities both as a creator and a person who seeks answers to the meaning of life.

I discovered glass making in college and quickly fell in love with the process. I think after I took that leap and dropped graphic design as my original major it kind of forced me to be all in. This industry is a grind and it’s very difficult both physically and financially at times, but perseverance is a word that comes to mind when I think about what I have been trying to accomplish in this chunk of time.

On this crazy path of creativity, I also discovered a new passion for education. I currently am a shop technician at a high school that has a glass facility. My job is to maintain the shop and keep it in proper working order so it’s fun and safe for teenagers to use, but I also play a large role in educating teens on the process of making all types of glass. Falling backward into this role as an educator is something I’m grateful for, and I do enjoy sharing what I know with kids.

Outside of my day job, I am fully committed to making my artwork to exhibit in gallery shows and on the internet. Covid helped a lot of artists discover new ways to connect their work with people all around the world without having to be in person, so I have been trying this avenue out as a way to gain some exposure for the ideas and things I have been making that reflect on our society and culture as Americans.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Glass making is a grind and I won’t try to downplay the work that is involved in trying to be successful. Even before you begin making stuff there’s a ton of information to understand about safety and the way the studio operates. My job as an educator kind of demands that I know a very wide spectrum of knowledge in all different types of glassmaking.

This has kept me busy over the years practicing multiple processes and techniques to ensure that I am delivering the best possible instruction for my students as well as any faculty that needs help. With that, I think this has opened many different paths in my work. I enjoy discovering how to combine what I know from kiln work, the hot shop, flameworking, and the use of mixed media to create sculptures with meaning.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
So, I do have some shallow roots in the graphic design world. I started to play around with the design in high school and picked up on illustrating. It was something that gained my attention because it felt like the “modern way” of doing something I had loved doing since I was a child. It was new and exciting and for a long time, I believed I was going to be a graphic designer.

The glass was the wrecking ball that smashed those dreams, but I am just now getting to the point in my career where I’m combining my previous love for design with my knowledge of glass. I have been exploring typography with this current body of work, blowing letters up to a large scale and utilizing the negative spaces, shapes, and characteristics of each letter within a typeface.

For some, it would sound kind of boring but it fascinates me when you can play around with these things and recreate them entirely. The letters in the glass all start on the computer and I use these printouts to make molds that are then cast into glass forms. I’m starting to dive deeper into this process by layering letters, using more colors, and even bending them at high temperatures in a kiln by hand to suggest movement.

I would say I’m most proud of myself for sticking with glass for as long as I have. Some people burn out and call it quits and I’m just as guilty as other people for throwing in the towel when I feel overwhelmed and discouraged with some things. But it has been a true test of my patience and skills to learn techniques and continuously fail only to grow and learn from mishaps. I’m also proud of my wife for being my number one supporter through it all.

A lot of people don’t know this but she has a massive part in the way that I create because she helps me talk through my thoughts. We have known each other for a long time and I have always struggled with the right way to explain how I feel. She has helped me develop these skills and for that, I am forever grateful for her encouragement and support.

How can people work with you, collaborate with you, or support you?
I would love to work with designers/illustrators to continue to clash these processes together. It would be a lot of fun to work with someone who is a bit more up-to-date with the current software and knows a bit more about what has been developing in that field over the past 15 years.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.mikedaponte.com
• Instagram: @dapsglass