We talked to seasoned glassblower Anderson Coats, known professionally as Like a Moth to the Flame, about his extensive history in the cannabis glass industry. Anderson Coats' journey into the world of glassblowing started in 1994 with legendary glassblower Bob Snodgrass. At that time Snodgrass was known for the fumed pipes that he produced out of a converted van at the parking lot tailgate parties that typically precede Grateful Dead shows. Anderson Coats had tickets to see the show, but when he spotted Bob Snodgrass he decided to give his tickets away to a fortunate fan so that he could keep watching Snodgrass work. Throughout the night Anderson would ask Bob questions and Bob would give him pieces of advice. After that night Anderson Coats bought a torch, a book, and an instructional VHS and started learning how to blow glass himself.
Bob Snodgrass' bits of advice would prove to be invaluable to Anderson Coats, as information about glassblowing was very hard to come by in those days. Glass artists in the 1990's often held onto their techniques as closely guarded secrets, and there were few instructional resources available even in the early days of the World Wide Web. Anderson lives in Asheville, North Carolina, and at the time he was the only pipe maker working in that area. Raw materials were also hard to acquire at that time and there was very little color variety available, so most of Anderson's pipes would be made with some version of a cobalt color or they would be made with fume clear glass that would change color as the pipe was used and filled with resin, a technique pioneered by Bob Snodgrass.
During the first ten months Anderson Coats broke every single piece that he made. Early pipe makers often annealed their works in vermiculite which is a less-than-ideal method that is far less reliable than modern annealing techniques that use a kiln, so pieces would develop cracks far more often. Gradually he learned the proper techniques and treatments needed to avoid cracking the glass, and then he started producing more and more pieces, usually pipes and pendants, that would make it out of the vermiculite without cracking. Anderson was finally able to start selling some products here and there, and as he started to pull in profits he was able to obtain more materials and began pushing himself to make his products better. Anderson even goes so far as to say that he was probably doing better financially in that time period around the late 1990's than he is even today.
On July 6th, 2000, Anderson Coats had an accident where he nearly lost his left arm. Anderson almost died from this incident, going a full two minutes without receiving any oxygen to his brain. As he slowly recovered he met a wealthy old lady who would eventually sponsor him to attend the Penland School of Craft, a renowned professional arts and crafts educational center located only about fifty miles from Anderson Coats' home in Asheville, North Carolina. At Penland, Anderson Coats took classes from Roger Parramore, a household name in the world of American art glass. Anderson also met another blower by the name of Julie Riggs who would become a longtime friend. Anderson Coats started making artistic goblets during this time period; the early 2000's were a dangerous time to be a pipe maker in the United States following the DEA's Operation Pipe Dreams which had led to the arrest of Tommy Chong for promoting his son's glass studio, as well as to raids of head shops and glass studios across the Midwestern United States. During most of the 2000's Anderson Coats, along with many other early glassblowers, would focus on making and trying to sell artistic glass works that did not involve the use of cannabis.
As cannabis glass grew in popularity throughout the mid to late 2000's, many of these early glassblowers returned to pipe making and were inspired by the direction in which the industry was heading, with the advent of some early concentrate rigs appearing in this time period. Anderson Coats adopted the name Like a Moth to the Flame for his works, identifying with the moth whose only mission in life is to fly into the light. As he returned to the world of cannabis glass, Like a Moth to the Flame had to relearn some old techniques and become familiar with some new techniques that had been popularized during his goblet-making period. He began to establish a characteristic style that employed heavy use of dichroic glass and signature horn designs; the pipes, rigs, pendants, and jewelry which Like a Moth to the Flame now produces could never be mistaken for anyone but Anderson Coats' work.
Now, Like a Moth to the Flame continues to produce amazing work and he loves to teach what he knows about glassblowing to prospective artists, it's an amazing gift that he can give to others which they can then take and use to express themselves and to potentially make a living. Like a Moth to the Flame recently acquired a lapidary faceting arm and has been having a lot of fun teaching himself to facet glass. In the future Like a Moth to the Flame intends to continue doing what he does best, and he's hoping to put more of a focus on jewelry like pendants, rings, bracelets, and even cremation memorial jewely. You can check out of all Anderson Coats' incredible work over at the Like a Moth to the Flame Instagram page.
