Caleb Storm Dickman
Caleb Storm Dickman, owner of Liquid Fire Glass LLC, has been blowing glass and creating one-of-kind artworks for more than fifteen years. It all began when he was twenty years old in the early 2000s. Not too long out of high school, Caleb was unsure of what path to take next. The choices were either college or going into a trade. He was leaning heavily toward the trade side of the question, then found himself working three jobs.
One of those jobs was helping his mother, Juniper Healy. Juniper was the long-time owner of Seeds of Light, a bead and gift shop with locations in Blacksburg and Roanoke. Caleb grew up helping his mother in the shop, where her own handcrafted jewelry designs were featured. There, he found a love of creativity. In particular, Caleb was drawn to glasswork. “It’s a mysterious medium,” says Caleb, talking about the flow of the glass.
At the time, there were only a couple people in the area blowing glass, but neither wanted to teach. Without a teacher, Caleb wasn’t sure how to pursue the craft and art he found so fascinating. That is, until he met Kenan Tiemeyer.
Already a glass artist, Kenan brought his own creations into Seeds of Light. This is where Caleb first met the teacher he needed. Unfortunately, Kenan was also not interested in teaching at that time. Over the next two years, however, Caleb and Kenan became friends, with Caleb often visiting Kenan at his home studio. Eventually, Kenan agreed to teach, and Caleb finally embarked upon a paid apprenticeship.
Caleb comes from a creative family. In addition to his mother’s talent with hand-crafted jewelry, his father, Richard Dickman, is highly skilled in carpentry. Caleb also attributes his love of creativity to growing up in Floyd, where he was constantly surrounded by artists and crafts people. Many of his friends are super-creative, so creativity has been in the air he’s breathed nearly all his life.
In the years following his apprenticeship, Caleb found his own artistic style by trial and error. After moving to Colorado in 2008, he had the opportunity to work with other glass artists and attend advanced classes where he was able to observe and learn new techniques.
Eventually, however, Caleb returned to Floyd where he reconnected with his old friend, Kenan. In 2020, the two of them got together and opened Blue Ridge Alchemy, a studio, classroom space, and gallery where the two showcased their creations.
In the Summer of 2022, however, Kenan decided he wanted to return to his home studio in Indian Valley, Virginia. Kenan had always worked from his home, and he wanted to be on hand to care for his home, family, and farm animals.
As Caleb was more interested in the retail side of the craft business, a mutual and amicable decision was made for Caleb to continue at 115 Sweeney Street location under his own creation name, Liquid Fire Glass.
Known for his visionary and colorful other-worldly pieces, Caleb specializes in lampworking. He starts with Pyrex and borosilicate glass tubes, which he fire-torches into a molten state and blows to manipulate the desired shapes.
“I like to think outside the box,” says Caleb, “and make things that no one else is making.” Caleb tells us that his goal is to create pieces that spark the imagination. His glass works incorporate mixed media, and he uses copper electroforming to embellish his pieces with crystals, gemstones, deer antlers, feathers, and more. He paints some of his pieces with acrylic graphite paint and might add a patina finish.
He captivates and delights admirers with his marble orbs and pendants that evoke fantasy space scenes, ethereal dreamscapes, and tree of life roots and branches. One pendant, called “Into the Deep Blue Sea”, is described as featuring peacock chameleon glass, a shark’s tooth from Venice Beach, Florida, two Arkansas quartz points, an abalone shell cab, sphere opal, and a copper infinity spiral. Once each work of house-made glass art is completed, Caleb uses a titanium pen to date the piece and to sign his middle name, Storm.
Caleb’s Liquid Glass studio resembles an alchemist’s lab with kilns, specialized equipment and tools, an area for conductive painting, and a sink for submerging pieces in an acid bath. Caleb works from a hooded custom bench, sometimes with his dog Loki by his side. The pup was fatefully named by Caleb before he knew that, in Norse Mythology, Loki was a mischievous shape-shifter embodied with the qualities of fire.
Caleb’s lampworked pieces are showcased at his Liquid Fire shop, formerly Blue Ridge Alchemy, which is a working studio and gallery that includes space for live glass blowing demonstrations and classes. Liquid Fire Glass features Caleb’s pendants, kaleidoscopes, ornaments, paper weights, pipes, marbles, perfume bottles, wine stoppers, and more. His copper electroformed light cover switches, oil lamps, and business card holders are displayed alongside handmade consigned works from other local artisans, making the shop a unique addition to the Floyd art scene and a must-see stop for finding one-of-kind special gifts.
All-day classes for up to two people offer instruction on setting up, learning the glass making process, learning how to find materials, and how to market finished product. Attendees work with solid Pyrex rods after viewing a demonstration by Caleb. Students of the all-day class make mushroom pendants.
Two-day classes provide an introduction to blowing hollow glass ornaments, as well as an introduction to copper electroforming, which is coating a layer of copper over organic materials such as leaves, twigs, and honeycomb.
This past December, Caleb offered several live, public demos of Christmas ornament making, and taught classes in making holiday ornaments. A twenty-minute live demo that accommodates up to five people can be requested and booked in advance. “Kids and families love it.”
Caleb also tells us that ornate, glass-blown pipes are sought after by collectors all over the country. Often purchased for large sums, these pipes increase in value over time. Pipes are just one part of Caleb’s extensive body of work, but he is also branching out, taking a silversmithing class and setting up a crafting area for that.
Located at 115 Sweeney Street in Floyd, just behind DJ’s Drive-in off Route 221, Liquid Fire Glass is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00am to 7:00pm, or by appointment. Along with creating work and tending shop, Caleb also vends at crafts shows and sells his glass works wholesale to shops.
“Come say hi and support local,” Caleb recently said on his Facebook page. “Look for the purple door.”
Liquid Fire Glass LLC • Caleb Storm Dickman
115 Sweeney Street, Floyd, VA • 540-250-6728
www.LiquidFireGlassLLC.com