Today we’d like to introduce you to David Teeters
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?
My name is David Teeters, I was born and raised here in Knoxville, I have a beautiful wife and two young children, we live in the Hardin Valley area. Music and art has always been where my strongest interests life! I’m a mechanical engineer by degree and still work in my field as I grow as a glass art business owner.
Back in 2013, I kicked off my business called Glassadazical with the purpose of an artistic outlet for myself and to be involved with music festivals. The business quickly grew to include several local friends and took on a life of it’s own well past what my initial dreams included. We graduated from vending smaller, more intimate events to some of the largest music festivals on the East Coast. These days, when we are granted the opportunity, we often run live flameworking demonstrations and make custom orders at events. Our festival touring will continue for many years to come to bring our art to the masses!
Community is very important to me.. in the last few years in my development as a glass art buiness owner, I began to think the time has come to play a more active role in educating and promoting the art community in my home town. Late 2024, we at Glassadazical decided it was time to kick off a local spot as a center for glass arts in Knoxville. Over the years, our clientele has expressed quite a lot of interest in taking lessons from us and getting to see us on our home turf… so the decision to open a teaching studio was a farily easy decision.
We quickly settled on the name Visualize Art Studio and plan to include as many forms of glass art training as we can! Our studio location does not allow for a full hot shop, however we will have the ability to host a large collection of lampworking/flameworking, bead making, stained glass, fused glass and other forms of glass art. All skill levels are welcome!! Whether you’re just interested in sampling what we have to offer or you’re a seasoned artist looking to pick up some other skills.. we got you covered!
In addition to teaching, our studio will offer several rental table spaces including options to rent torches – kilns – tools etc to get you going!
Our target offering is individual skill building as well as and group class for events such as teambuilding for businesses, birthday parties / celebrations, ladies nights, guys nights, etc. Our website is visualizeartstudio.com and we go by Vizualize_Glass on Instagram. Please feel free to reach out and book a class, or stop by during our regular business hours posted on our site. Our Grand Opening Open House is scheduled for March 7-9, we will have our schedule for that celebration posted on our sites.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Starting this business has been a major stretch in my skillset and resources, but has been met with overwhelming amount of support and kindness from others! However, as result, we have a truly unique and appealing offering which I think will be very well received by the community.
Networking and getting our name out there will be my largest challenge coming up!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’ve had a seemingly random set of life experiences which unintentionally built a highly diversified skillset and an unwavering ambition which sets me apart from others. I am a chameleon of sorts in most social circles, and I’ve had immense amounts of hands-on experience with construction/fabrication. Most importantly, being boldly unafraid to run with an idea I believe in.
As far as my artistic style, I specialize in making wearable glass pendant jewerly.. specifically eyeball, dichroic and fumed styles. In the past, I have worked with plasma cut steel art as well as furniture carpentry and a few other 3D mediums.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
In 5yrs, I hope to be outgrowing my current studio space and be looking to expand into a much larger space and include hot shop glass art! In 10yrs, I hope to be a household name in the community and have a legacy as a leading contributor to the local and regional art education.
Pricing:
- 2hr classes start at $80
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.visualizeartstudio.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/visualize_glass
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Glassadazical/
