Eye on the Pupil: Jack Plank

While some seniors will be attending college in order to become doctors and engineers, senior Jack Plank is preparing for his future without the books. Over the course of just one year, the gregarious yet reclusive 17-year-old has found his true passion in life and it’s called glass.

After being drawn to the art of glass at a young age, Jack became interested in sculpting glass himself. He took this opportunity to explore something he had a profound interest in, since he was never too interested in school. In March of last year, Jack took his first lesson on glassblowing from Revere Glass in Berkeley.

“I took this lesson … and it just consumed me,” Jack said. “I didn’t need to sleep or eat. I became so disoriented; I didn’t know what time it was.”

This lesson taught Jack to use a glass-forming technique, which requires inflating molten glass into a bubble with the aid of a blow tool. Glassblowing requires Jack to labor over a hot torch as he manipulates the extremely hot glass.

Jack admits he was not an instant learner and his learning process was not without a few burns and scratches. He can even recount a time where a boiling hot tube of glass fell through his pants, burning holes upon entry and exit on both sides of his pant leg.

“It was miraculous,” Jack said. “You can really do some damage to yourself.”

Jack first began crafting pendants and other glass products in his parents’ backyard. However, after a few weeks, he found the set-up to be far too disorganized and filled with distractions, making it difficult for him to develop his skills. It wasn’t until he began renting a space at TemperChi Glass Studio in Mountain View last September that Jack’s career kicked into full swing.

Past a chain-linked fence and TemperChi’s door, Jack can be found sweating, wearing protective goggles, and using tongs to grasp a tube of glass over his torch’s hot flame. Jack works this way for at least five hours every day. Taking minimal coursework at school, he centers his day around expressing himself through glass.

“I’m getting away from all the stress in my life,” Jack said. “I just have ideas of stuff I have to make. It’s pretty cool for me to be able to picture something and plan it out and then make it happen.”

Naturally, this hobby has changed Jack’s day-to-day life as well as his personal behaviors.

“I’ve learned to be more patient, more laid back,” Jack said. “I don’t hang out with my friends as much because Friday night I’m going to be blowing glass. It may be bad, but it’s so good.”

Because Jack is so passionate and glass is expensive, Jack spends a large amount of time working so that he can pay for supplies. He is completely self-sufficient, using the money he earns working in the Stanford cafeteria to buy propane and glass tubes and rent his space. Jack said he can go through two to three $25 propane tanks a week.

Looking forward, Jack hopes blowing glass will become his career. Although he is not attending a prestigious university or making a six-figure salary coming out of high school, Jack is lucky nonetheless because he knows what he wants to do and he’s passionate about doing it.

“Glassblowing is all I want to do all day every day, so it’s what I do all day every day,” Jack said. “I just blow glass.”