 | I was introduced to glass while attending Vincennes University in Southern Indiana. I was studying graphic art and design and ran into a scheduling problem when signing up for classes one semester. My counselor recommended taking a course titled Scientific and Decorative Glassblowing. At first, I was reluctant to sign up for the course, but the counselor was tenacious and convincing. I immediately took to working with glass and felt a natural affinity for the way heat moves through the glass and how that in turn effects the malleability and flow.
As fate would have it, an artist had a solo art exhibit in the university art gallery at the same time. The artist had created sculptures that included glass neon tubes. The gallery lights were continually shut off, and only the dimly shinning colored light of the neon portions of the sculptures illuminated the space. I couldn’t stay out of the gallery, and I would make detours just to catch a few more glimpses of the moody and aura-invoking art. This exhibit, together with the scientific glass blowing class, had such an impact on me that I decided to study neon instead of graphic art.
I enrolled in the National Neon Institute in Benicia, CA. This is where the love of glass truly took a hold of my life. In Benicia, I immersed myself in glass. I studied neon and flame working, started fusing glass, and frequently visited the local glass blowing studios to watch and to learn.
After neon school I spent eight years working for a neon shop in Phoenix, AZ called Neon Nightscapes. During that time I was buying my own tools and equipment and building a glass studio.
I have continued my education in glass by taking courses at the Mesa Art Center and the Sonoran Glass Art Academy, single day workshops here and there. Most recently, I studied in Murano, Italy.
in 2010 I went into business for myself as an independent artist under the name Glass Phoenix. Since then I have gotten my work into an ever growing number of galleries and stores across the country. I have won a variety of awards including the 2012 SGAA Flame Off. I have taught classes at J Street Glass and Waterfront Glass Works. Most recently I was asked to write for Glass Line Magazine and had my first tutorial article run in the Aug/Sept addition. |
