IN 2011, when glass artist Xiao Tai experimented with a new melting technique, he had no idea just how difficult it would be to perfect.

In addition to being a path-breaking sculptor, Xiao is the head of the glass art studio at Shanghai Polytechnic University’s School of Applied Art Design.

When it comes to his own output, Xiao likes to keep a low-profile and rarely appears in the public spotlight — he rarely shows his melted glass works that have defined his recent career as an artist. The reason he offers for this is simple: “I’m too busy even to think about it.”

Born in 1970 in Shanghai, Xiao studied ink-wash painting and seal cutting when he was a child. He is a graduate from East China Normal University and got a post-graduate degree from Shanghai University.

In 2013, Xiao was given the “Representative of Traditional Arts and Crafts in Glass Art” award by the Shanghai government. He has also published two books, “Contemporary Glass Art Design” and “Fusion to Integration,” to share his knowledge of glass art with his students.

Early in 2002, Xiao helped establish the first glass art studio at Shanghai University. Three years later, he established his own studio at Shanghai Polytechnic University. In the beginning, Xiao, like some of his peers, was interested in the technique of casting, which he says is easier to control when it comes to creating realistic pieces.

“But once you try melting, it’s hard to refuse its temptation,” he says with a sigh.

Even Xiao can’t remember how many times he failed in the firing process — perhaps “a thousand times,” he estimates. He admits that this seemingly endless string of failed attempts to achieve his desired effect began to weigh on him after a while.

“The pain, both physically and spiritually, can drive you mad,” he says of his early experiments. “Luckily, I overcame it.”

Today, Xiao’s glass studio has channels for communication and exchange with similar studios at universities in the US, UK, Italy, Finland and the Netherlands.

When talking about solo exhibitions, he gives a short answer, “I have a website (www.taiglass.org) where one can find all of my series.”

Xiao is more willing to talk about his focus on community art. Since 2014, his studio, under the invitation from the Shanghai Charity Foundation, has been introducing glass art to the city’s elderly and disabled residents.

“I feel happy to share my knowledge in art and put it in the simplest way with these particular groups of people,” he says. “Believe it or not, sometimes their ways of thinking also give my work a certain spark.”

Q: What is the advantage of glass melting, compared with glass blowing and casting?

A: It is more free and vivid. Of course, each technique has its advantages and limitations. Blowing and casting are more suitable to create something concrete. Glass melting is much more difficult to control. I have to open the door of the kiln from time to time to check the shape and colors during the process, but that’s also part of its appeal.

Q: In your eyes, what are the basic requirements to be a quality glass artist?

A: Firstly, one should have a passion for glass art plus mastery of the skills and techniques. Secondly, one should also have a better understanding of fine art. Lastly, but most critically, is a brave heart to encounter countless failures.

Frankly speaking, I have been “tortured” by thousands of failures in making glass works in the past decade. Sometimes I was so dejected that I almost wanted to give it up. What I did was just to throw them away from my mind.

Q: Who is your favorite glass artist?

A: I never focus on one certain artist, but rather the works themselves. To tell you the truth, my favorite pieces sometimes come from students. For example, I can still remember one piece from a local student art competition several years ago.

Q: Which do you think is more important to making a piece of glass art, technique or concept?

A: The two can’t be separated. Technique is a tool to realize the concept. But sometimes technique will miraculously guide you to some unexpected outcome. However, I don’t like to create glass pieces just to show off technique, because they merely attract the viewer for a fleeting moment.

Q: You’ve emphasized the importance of glass art in daily life. What’s behind this emphasis?

A: I am an advocate for “art in life.” I remember one of my trips to Aalto University in Finland, one of the top universities in Northern Europe. The students at the glass studio there were terrific. Some of their designs were used for glass vessels at IKEA. That’s why a small vase, candleholder or a cup at IKEA could attract so many buyers around the world.

I know how difficult it is to be a glass artist considering the money that has to be spent on studio space, a kiln, material and labor, especially for young people. If they can sell their designs into production, then why not? It’s a win-win situation.

Q: You have engaged in glass casting, blowing and melting. Will you experiment with other new techniques?

A: That’s the advantage of being a professor at Shanghai Polytechnic University. I am now trying to fuse the technique of melting and casting into one piece of glass art. I always believe advances in technique can bring new possibilities.

Q: Do you showcase some of your pieces at your home?

A: Well, I never do that. The major reason is because of their daunting size. It is better to display them in a big space. Even for some small works, it seems unsuitable to put them in my home. You know why? Because I am a perfectionist. The more I look at my work, the more I see its imperfections, and it would be a torture for me to face them every day!

Q: Unlike some of your peers, you have several glass series with different themes, yet there is a certain aesthetic taste wafting over your works. Are you more inclined to reflect a Western flavor or an Oriental one?

A: Frankly, I myself even don’t know. But I think there must be some Oriental roots in my subconsciousness as I grew up here. However, I hate to mirror or materialize them in clichéd Chinese symbols in my works. I hope my works can combine the implicative and realistic aspects into one. For example, my “BC” series was inspired by the ancient bronzes of China, so I tried to use glass and copper at the same time in my work. Another, the “Tune” series, was prompted by my enamoring of the crisp sound of glass.

Q: What are you reading now?

A: Shakespeare, as I just got back from his hometown in the UK.