Talking Out Your Glass podcast

In 2026, Hannah Gibson created Recycling Narratives, No Matter the Weight , in collaboration with textile artist Naomi Beevers. This collaborative work was shared with the public at Laura Donefer's Glass Fashion Show held at the Glass Art Society conference at the Corning Museum of Glass in June. The work consists of thousands of individual pieces of recycled cast glass, each made from donated glass carrying its own story and hand assembled into a wearable dress. Created from glass contributed by people around the world, the installation explores the emotional and physical weight carried through illness, loss, hope and survival, transforming individual experiences into a collective portrait of resilience, compassion and connection. Working predominantly with recycled glass, Gibson transforms glass that has played a meaningful role in people's lives, from medicine bottles and insulin vials to perfume bottles, windscreens and everyday domestic objects, into cast sculpture that preserves the histories embedded within the material. Every object is carefully selected for the story it carries, allowing experiences of healing, celebration, loss and survival to become inseparable from the finished work. Through this process, she invites audiences to reconsider the social, emotional and cultural significance of the objects that shape our lives. Growing up at the foothills of Snowdonia, overlooking the Menai Strait, Gibson developed an early fascination with geology, leading her to study Geology at the University of Edinburgh. While there, an interest in glass grew into a lifelong passion. She later completed a Master's in Glass at The University College of Arts in Farnham, where she began developing the bodies of work Recycling Narratives and Whispering Sweet Nothings. Returning as Artist in Residence, her research explored materiality and the transformative potential of recycled glass, laying the foundations for a practice that continues to investigate the relationship between object, memory and cultural heritage. Gibson's work has received international recognition, including the Award of Excellence at Habatat Detroit in 2024, First Prize in the Glass Art Society's Trace: An Exploration of Sustainable Glass Art in 2023, being shortlisted for the Coburg Prize for Contemporary Glass in 2022, and being Highly Commended in The Glass Prize in both 2021 and 2022. Her work has been exhibited internationally at the Corning Museum of Glass, the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, the Imagine Museum, the National Liberty Museum and the Royal Scottish Academy, as well as at SOFA Chicago, COLLECT, PAN Amsterdam, the British Glass Biennale, Habatat Detroit Fine Art, Habatat North Carolina, The Etienne Gallery, Gallery TEN and London Glassblowing. Her work will be on view in The Other Glass: The Art of Recycled Glass , at the Stourbridge Glass Museum, Wordsley, August 28 through February 27, 2027; and also at The British Glass Biennale in St Helen's, UK, from August 28 through November 1, 2026. https://www.stourbridgeglassmuseum.org.uk/featured-exhibitions/ Alongside her studio practice, Gibson creates public art, delivers lectures and workshops internationally, and continues to expand the possibilities of recycled glass. Gibson's work demonstrates how materials that have completed their original purpose can become enduring works of art, preserving personal narratives while contributing to wider conversations about sustainability, memory and our relationship with the material world. States Gibson: "For almost three decades, my practice has explored the creative and technical potential of recycled glass. As both a glass artist and a geologist, I am fascinated by the stories held within materials and the traces of human experience they contain. Through recycling and recasting these objects, I seek to preserve their histories while creating new forms and meanings."

Using glass as a medium to capture and refract light, David Yeshia seeks to freeze moments of transition, combining myriad elements to manipulate their visual and symbolic effects. Also a metaphor for his life at the time, Yeshia was smashing glass and rebuilding the fragments into something beautiful. A new breed of "artrepreneur," he emerged from the Covid pandemic bringing art out of the gallery and into the public marketplace by developing accessible and affordable works. A self-taught Canadian glass artist known for his signature fused glass techniques, Yeshia has developed innovative methods including his "Glass Netting" technique, "Glascade" and signature "Free Mosaic" forms exploring glass as both structure and light. He was nominated for the Emerging Glass Artist of the Year Award by the Glass Art Society and has created sculptural works for government commissions and collectors across Canada. His work is sold at Walt Disney World, and his process-focused storytelling has attracted over 400,000 followers across social media, with his videos reaching tens of millions of views. Yeshia attended Concordia University Fine Arts, graduating in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree with a double major in Theater and Religious Studies. In 2017, as an exotic mushroom cultivator in Montreal, Yeshia's business was hit hard by the Covid pandemic's impact on the restaurant and food industries. At 30 years old, he moved back in with his parents in the countryside just outside of Pembroke, Ontario—emotionally drained, uncertain about the future, and feeling like a failure. Dejected, without direction, he began to experiment with glass in the stained glass studio of his father, Jeffrey Melamed, an architect turned stained glass artist. Says Yeshia: "When I was struggling and trying to rebuild my life, my family rallied around me. Their enthusiasm for my work gave me the encouragement and confidence to keep going. My mother began attending markets, my father helped with displays, shows, and accounting, and my sister brought her creativity and many great product ideas." Yeshia's business Artglas has expanded to Markham, Ontario, and now employs a staff of seven. Early on, a pivotal meeting with Disney's Keith Bryan inspired the artist's early series of fused glass art and eventually led to his ongoing contract to design and produce ornaments for Disney. In September 2026, Artglas will return to exhibit in "The Transparent Breath," an International exhibition of glass jewelry held at Venice Glass Week. Specializing in experimental fusing techniques to create contemporary glass jewelry that represents the Canadian identity, Yeshia's Venice collection showcases his unique talents of incorporating 24-karat gold and silver into the glass. "This will be our fifth time at Venice Glass Week. It was an honor to be amongst some of the greatest glass artists of our time, in one of the world's most historic hubs of the arts," said Yeshia. "And it was overwhelming connecting with artists from all over the world, sharing our work and creativity in such an inspiring environment." In 2027, Yeshia's company will also expand its online education and subscriber platforms, open a gallery and second studio space, and create more room for one-of-a-kind and conceptual work. Artglas also has new commercial projects in development, including a Disney concept still awaiting approval. Says Yeshia: "As Artglas grew, I had to learn how to wear many different hats, including artist, maker, employer, marketer, content creator, educator, salesperson, and business owner, while still preserving the meaning, symbolism, and quality of the work."

Demonstrating at the 2026 Glass Art Society conference at the Studio of the Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York, 24-year-old Jack Spitzer impressed the standing-room-only crowd as he created a vessel form from his Stochastic Series. The young glassblowing phenom was met with enthusiastic applause as he carried out a technical move known as "The Laydown." Born in July of 2025, Spitzer's Stochastic Series started as opaque vessels and transformed into the current transparent cane vessels. The newer work debuted at Sandra Ainsley Gallery last week. These new vessels explore color, form, pattern, and gesture. Each piece pulses with energy, balancing technical precision with spontaneity. Says Spitzer: " The Stochastic vessels are all about the pattern. The pattern is unique in the way that I do it. I've never seen this pattern made in glass before. The canes are created in the hotshop and then manipulated into the squiggle shapes. They are then picked back up in the hotshop in a very compressed format. Very traditional venetian cane techniques— with an innovative twist…… or you could say squiggle." With work formed around a strong grasp of the fundamentals of glassblowing, Spitzer enjoys exploring and creating contemporary themes using traditional techniques. He likes to use basic shapes and skills to express the craftsmanship of the bubble in work that is constantly changing and growing. Born in Tacoma, Washington, Spitzer is a product of the Pacific Northwest glass scene. His early exposure to the medium, influenced by his grandmother's involvement with the Museum of Glass, led him to begin blowing glass at age 12. He spent his middle school and high school years at the Hilltop Artists program, a youth development arts nonprofit in Tacoma operating deeply impactful programs since 1994 with broad community support and a track record of success.Hilltop Artists uses glass art to connect young people from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds to better futures. Spitzer, who sets the standard for the younger generation of glass makers, has been apprenticing for Dante Marioni and working on Dale Chihuly's glassblowing team for the last three years. His early connection to the material and its history has shaped his own practice rooted in tradition, yet driven by innovation. Spitzer is represented by Sandra Ainsley Gallery in Toronto and Tom Hawk Gallery in Columbus, Ohio. In September 2026, he will demonstrate at the 11th International Glass Festival held in Odunpazarı, Eskişehir, Turkey. In 2027, he'll return as a gaffer to Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, Washington.

Over the past 55 plus years, John Gilbert Luebtow has become one of the most respected names in contemporary glass sculpture. Inspired by Friedrich Froebel, the inventor of kindergarten , the artist developed innovative technical processes in glass-making, introducing and incorporating gesture and expressive qualities into impeccably finished sculptural components. A student of Harvey Littleton, Mark Peiser and others, Luebtow explored blown, cast, and fused glass, as well as other techniques. Lois Lambert Gallery, Santa Monica, California, presented Retrospective – From 1972 to 2023 , a recent exhibition of work by 82-year-old Luebtow. Lambert wrote: "Luebtow has been creating art for over 55 years, specializing in kiln formed glass, and has become one of the most important names in contemporary glass sculpture. He is most known for his innovation in the technical processes of working with glass, developing his own methods and even building his own tools for creating large-scale glass sculptures and installations up to 25 feet tall. At the heart of Luebtow's artistic philosophy is a curiosity about the processes of creation and a commitment to forging something entirely new. Luebtow's work integrates glass with architecture, becoming equal parts artistic expression and engineering endeavors. Despite his skilled background in drawing, painting, and ceramics, Luebtow ultimately has chosen glass as his primary medium, as 'no other material deals with light, line, movement, change, intensity…all things visual…as glass does, while also paralleling life, having an inner and outer self, and an internal and external presence or being.' Inspiration for Luebtow's work can be found in everything that is experienced in life, pairing beauty along with the reality of life's struggles. 'The events of our times, then and now, affect everything we do and are allowed to do. We are what we have experienced and what we remember.' Luebtow's sculptures, though not limited to, can be categorized by two different themes: political/social commentary and the abstraction of beauty. Many of Luebtow's sculptures use images of the American flag to reflect on and process political and social happenings. Other works utilize linear and geometric forms with added surface embellishment, to create technically perfect investigations of beauty and abstraction." Exploring rhythm and movement of line in sculptural form, Luebtow developed his Linear Form Series of cast and slumped glass sculpture. Working on a large scale required engineering skills to design and build kilns as large as 14' long x 10' wide x 4' tall to produce the elements for large scale architectural installations. Working with float glass, Luebtow left his mark on architectural spaces in and around Los Angeles, where his studio is located, and the country. His art required the design and building of equipment and development of processes that were almost as much art as the art itself. Projects such as Invenire, Ventus Vitae , and Sapere Aude were groundbreaking aesthetic and technical highlights of his career as a sculptor. Luebtow, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin native, holds a BA from California Lutheran College, and two distinct MFAs from UCLA (one in ceramics and one in glass). Since 1966, Luebtow has exhibited in over 175 exhibitions throughout the United States and abroad, including exhibitions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA; Tacoma Art Museum, WA; Zimmer Museum, CA; Corning Museum, NY; Carnegie Museum, PA; Oakland Museum of Art, CA; Santa Monica Museum of Art, CA; Louisville Art Museum, KY; Manhattan Beach Art Museum, CA; and Orange County Museum of Art, CA. His work has been commissioned by major public and private corporations including Hewlett-Packard (HP), ARCO (Atlantic Richfield), American Airlines, NESTLÉ (Carnation), and the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla. Over 160 articles have been published about Luebtow's work. Wrote Shana Nys Dambrot for Patricia Correa Gallery: "John Luebtow has consistently addressed a quadrum of fundamental sculptural issues throughout his career: line, form, space, and light. These are broad considerations, to be sure; to a certain extent, they are inherent to all visual art media. What is significant in Luebtow's fidelity to this set of issues is not only his tenacity in the unraveling of their mysterious laws, but also the extraordinarily wide range of approaches he has drawn to them. The mystery he pursues is the technical spiritual identity of his medium. He searches within the sovereign form of his subjects for the abstract evidence of the energetic rhythm of movement." For a full review of his career, Luebtow has written and published Glass, A Life Time of Creating, available now.

Cedric Mitchell is a multidisciplinary designer, glass artist, and cultural tastemaker successfully combining elements including craft, utility, and visual culture. His work is rooted in handmaking but reaches beyond any single medium. He designs objects that carry energy, emotion, and intention – pieces meant to live with people. Says Mitchell: "My design language is what I call modern funk . It is defined by bold color, playful geometry, and confident forms balanced by structure and refinement. I draw inspiration from music, movement, architecture, and everyday rituals. Whether I am working on lighting, furniture, or collectible objects, my goal remains the same. To create work that feels alive, expressive, and deeply human." Cedric Mitchell Design is not just a studio; it is a platform for craft-driven innovation across categories where functional objects, sculptural works, and cultural storytelling coexist. This year is shaping up to be a big one for Mitchell, who recently launched a new body of work through JOOPITER , further pushing his practice into collectible design. Alongside that, he continues to develop new lighting and furniture pieces, leaning more into sculptural, functional objects and expanding his modern funk language across materials. In October, Mitchell will be showing work at ComplexCon, a large-scale cultural festival that showcases design, fashion, music, and streetwear. He chose to present work in that context because, as he states, "my practice has always been about bridging craft with contemporary culture. It's an opportunity to place hand-blown glass and collectible design in front of a broader audience that doesn't typically encounter it in traditional gallery settings." Originally from Oklahoma, where he first encountered studio glass while recording at a Tulsa music studio, Mitchell learned glassblowing at Tulsa Glassblowing School , where he eventually became an apprentice and an instructor. Now based in Los Angeles, he has developed glassware collections, collaborated with high-profile clients such as Nike, and served as the events and resource manager at Crafting the Future , an organization that supports BIPOC craft artists. Mitchell's Kinetic Glasses , which swivel on a glass ball, were featured on the cover of the Summer 2024 issue of American Craft . During his 2023 residency at The Studio of the Corning Museum of Glass, Mitchell successfully explored many different hotshop techniques for creating patterns paired with color theory research. He delved into chromatherapy theory and his extensive experimentation yielded unique color combinations in both transparent and opaque glass. The artist has also completed residencies at Penland School of Craft and Pilchuck Glass School. He developed Cedric Mitchell Design in 2018 where he creates blown glass for retailers nationwide and is currently developing an eclectic line of lighting. Mitchell will be teaching at Tulsa Glassblowing School in June and at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in July of 2026. On the studio side, Mitchell continues to grow his direct-to-consumer work with glassware collections like Kinetic Glass and Chroma Stack , while building toward larger-scale projects and brand collaborations. Mitchell says, "This year is really about refining the vision and positioning the work at the intersection of craft, design, and culture."

An artist and educator, C. Matthew Szösz has established a practice that revolves around experimentation and investigation of techniques and material, with a focus on understanding the ways in which physical objects and events transform into intellectual and emotional experiences. He operates and is interested in the space that exists between design, craft and fine art. Wrote William Warmus in Glass , the UrbanGlass Art Quarterly: "So each Szösz project represents a unique inquiry into outcomes driven by curiosity, inspiration, and technical opportunity. Attempting to wrestle these diverse series into unified categories is to limit the creative variation and diversity of each, to try to name the style. Perhaps it is best to list some of his most important investigations, summarize the findings, and enjoy the artifacts of Szösz's subversive and yet disciplined and meticulous process." Since receiving his MFA(Glass) from Rhode Island School of Design, Szösz has been recognized internationally with awards such as the Irvine Borowsky Prize, the Jutta-Cuny Franz Prize, and a Tiffany Foundation Grant, and has completed numerous residencies in the US, Europe, Asia and Australia. He enjoys working as an educator, and has taught at ASP Wrøcław, Rietveld Akademie, Virginia Commonwealth University, University of Washington, University of Hawai'i, Pilchuck Glass School, Penland School of Crafts, and Bildwerk Frauenau and others, and has lectured and given numerous workshops around the world. He is the founding member of the curatorial group Hyperopia Projects and was Executive Director of Public Glass, a non-profit public access studio in San Francisco. Szösz's work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and is represented in private collections and public institutions in the United States, Australia, Europe and Japan, including at the Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY, the Renwick Gallery/Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC, the Toyama City Museum of Glass, Toyama, Japan, and Het Glazenhuis, Lommel, Belgium. His career has allowed him to meet and work with friends, colleagues and collaborators across four continents and dozens of institutions. He currently lives in Seattle with his wife, Anna Mlasowsky. Recently, Szösz completed an IASPIS residency in Sweden, administered by the International Arts Grants Committee there. Later in the year, he will work at a residency in Lisbon organized by Maria Morales Lam, through her studio Lo Invisible. In the next two years, he will be visiting a pair of universities in China and teaching at Pilchuck Glass School in the summer of 2027. In between, Szösz is finishing up a commission for SeaTac airport that has been the main focus of his practice for the past three years. The project, titled Jonah , converts a part of SeaTac's north main terminal, an escalator well and a surrounding mezzanine, into a highly abstracted version of Jonah's whale. The installation has been broken into two parts - a larger, more architectural part that creates two articulated glass walls that form the body of the whale, which was installed in December, and a more sculptural part that is scheduled for installation in September - a suspended, lighted piece that roughly corresponds to a whale's mouth holding a Pearl. Says Szösz: "There are a number of metaphors and associations between the Jonah story and air travel, and I particularly liked the idea of the whale being a meta-space, something that has a long tradition in stained glass. I was also attracted to the apocalyptic overtones of the Jonah story in view of the current American political and environmental situation." In contrast, the personal objects and videos Szösz creates are the result of performance-based experiments documenting a deep knowledge and unbridled desire to allow the material to lead him. The artist describes his practice as "an attempt to maximize serendipity, and to allow a project to be guided by material and consequence, arriving, in the end, in an unfamiliar and unpredicted landscape. A successful project should not only be surprising but should also achieve an identity independent of the artist, and to at least some degree, escape his control and mastery."

You might imagine that if you were born and raised on the island of Murano in Italy, with forefathers and relatives immersed in glass for generations, that one would have a mighty head start in becoming a famous glass artist. But in many ways, these connections make the goal of establishing an original voice as a glassblower a hefty challenge indeed. The artist in question would have big shoes to fill. Davide Salvadore strives for perfection in his work, surpassing the simple notion of glassblowing as a job and entering into the realm of passion, artistry and service to the material. His incarnations reveal his unique perspective on the world, alive with memories of the past, reactions to the present and hope for the future. This original voice attracted the attention of Bill Traver, Traver Gallery, Seattle, who was instrumental in supporting and exhibiting the Italian artist's work. "I have a great deal of respect for the artists of Murano, and for Davide Salvadore's heritage as part of a distinguished lineage of Venetian glassworkers," said Traver. "Davide is a truly amazing individual; he was raised amidst centuries-old traditions, yet is extremely forward thinking in his own work and his ideas about how glass can be used as a sculptural medium. His adaptation of techniques, as well as equipment, to create one-of-a-kind sculptural work unlike anything else made on the island is inspiring. His efforts, throughout the years, to cultivate and promote the appreciation of glass art on Murano and to share his passion for glass with future generations through his teaching are equally inspirational. In my opinion, it is exactly this kind of inventiveness, openness and enthusiasm that will help Murano maintain its position as the heart of the international glass community." Dating back to the 1700s, Salvadore is the 11th generation on his mother's side, credited with creating glass pieces. The first of this lineage were the Rosetto brothers whose works dated to 1721 for a Piedmontese princess. At a young age, Salvadore began following his grandfather, Antonio Mantoan, into the furnaces of Murano, first learning how to build the kilns and later working in the studios of Alfredo Barbini, who is often recognized as the ultimate glassmaker of Murano. Later, he worked as a glassblower in multiple well-known glass studios, learning from each and improving his abilities. In 1978 he began producing lampworked beads in his mother Anna Mantoan's jewelry studio, which she sold to Yves St. Laurent and other couture houses as well as to African merchants. With his mother's encouragement, Salvadore developed his own personal style of making lampworked beads, and these beads are still featured as part of his sculptural pieces today; a tribute to his mother's talent and support. In 1987, he opened his own studio, Campagnol & Salvadore, where he continued doing lampwork and further developed his glassblowing expertise and talent. In 1998, Salvadore made a conscious decision to turn away from traditional functional glass work. At approximately the same time, he began demonstrating his unique murrine technique at Corning Museum of Glass, Pilchuck Glass School, Pratt Fine Art Center, and others in the United States. It was then that he was introduced to the American Studio Glass movement, which Salvadore embraced. As a result of his ingenuity and the inventiveness of his creations, the artist's glass design became instantly noteworthy. In 2012, Salvadore founded his own studio, Salvadore SRL, where he continues to work today with his two sons, Marco and Mattia in Murano. Davide is a founding member of Centro Studio Vetro, a Muranese nonprofit association that aims to promote the culture and art of glass. After demoing at GAS Corning last week, Salvadore taught Mastering Muranese Magic at the Corning Museum of Glass, from June 8 – 14. Currently, Salvadore creates passionately expressive one-of-a-kind sculptures that push the boundaries of centuries-old traditions. He combines traditional Italian techniques and elements in innovative ways in his work, which reflects diverse influences such as African tribal imagery, Muranese roads, and the smokestacks of glasshouses.

Joey Kirkpatrick and Flora C. Mace consistently invite us to enter a meditative state. Whatever the medium, each piece seems to raise more questions than provide answers. The artists, respected for their innovative work, have concluded the series for which they are most known, large-scale blown glass fruit and vegetable forms. Their subsequent work includes life-size figurative wood and glass sculptures as well as outdoor bronze installations and glass work that features blown vessels and cast panels with illustrations of the 'first facts' of bird identification realized through applied glass powder drawings. Most recently, the artists have been working on their Botanicals , a body of work that preserves real flowers in composite and glass. Kirkpatrick and Mace have worked collaboratively for the past 47 years after meeting at the Pilchuck Glass School in 1979. The artists have consistently explored seminal themes: principles of drawing as incorporated into glass, the metaphoric content of human relationship to nature and the appropriation of materials to support a visual idea. They recently installed a large public art project at the Seattle Center in Seattle, Washington. Kirkpatrick (born in Des Moines, Iowa, 1952) and Mace (born in Exeter, New Hampshire, 1949) have exhibited, lectured and taught extensively throughout the world. They taught for 12 years at Pilchuck Glass School. Their collaborative work is included in collections and museums around the world including the Corning Museum of Glass, NY; The Detroit Institute of Art Detroit, MI; The Boston Museum of Fine Art, Boston, MA; Hokkaido Museum, Japan; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York NY; Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Lausanne, Switzerland; Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA; Toledo Art Museum, Toledo, OH and The National Museum of American Art, Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Mark Doty, wrote in the introduction of the book, Joey Kirkpatrick and Flora C Mace : "This might be the most complex yoking of all, the way that two sensibilities overlap, merge, separate, conflict and resolve. A continuing dynamic, itself both unstable and solid, evolving, transforming materials and processes as it transforms itself." Kirkpatrick and Mace were recognized in 2019 for their outstanding achievement in the field of contemporary glass art by the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass, and have been elected to the American Craft Fellows in 2005, interviewed for the Smithsonian Archives of American Art in 2006 and given the 2001 Chateau Ste. Michelle Libensky Award by Pilchuck Glass School honoring outstanding contemporary artists working in glass. Kirkpatrick served as a trustee on the board of Pilchuck Glass School for 16 years. Now, the artists split their time between a home and studio in Seattle, Washington, and a farm on the Olympic Peninsula near the Washington Coast. Their current Botanical sculptures grew out of a desire to capture the essence of a plant by preserving it through portraiture. Each plant is harvested as it shares its bloom, brought into the studio, deconstructed, dried and reassembled. The specimen is then suspended within layers of composites and glass. The finished work has been recreated through the artist's hand and dependent on the artist's view of the specimen by observing in life, the plant's structure, the result, a portrait of a flower. Of their Botanical sculpture, Daniel J. Hinkley, plantsman wrote: "The works of Joey Kirkpatrick and Flora C. Mace capture the improbable if not the impossible, the apprehension of not just a moment reflecting the magic and majesty of our natural world but the abduction and amplification of a precise moment of perfection. To say that the paragon of their subjects has been frozen in time implies incorrectly that what you observe in their work is not simply an expiration and preservation of a plant at its floral zenith. These flowers embody the mystery and beauty, comprehended and embraced by the artists, to such a degree that one might actually perceive its ultimate drop of petal, abscission of leaf or growth of root." A selection of Kirkpatrick and Mace works is also on view now at the Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York, in Tough Stuff: Women in the American Glass Studio. The exhibition showcases the groundbreaking creators who shaped the past and future of glass art.

In a heartbreakingly dark and beautiful panel depicting the Statue of Liberty afloat in a pond amongst lily pads, water grasses and small frogs, Jesse Olwen reveals his inner sadness about the state of affairs in the US and wider world today. Though the most recent, this is not the only one of his works to reference Memento Mori – a Latin phrase meaning, remember that you have to die. Olwen is a stained glass artist based in Montreal, working at the intersection of traditional craftsmanship and contemporary visual culture. His work reinterprets historic techniques through modern subject matter, exploring themes of memory, symbolism, and transformation. Through glass, he aims to create pieces that feel both timeless and culturally immediate. States Olwen: "I don't know yet how my work can impact viewers on a large scale, but I do know that working with stained glass offers a unique way to express my message while also pushing the boundaries of the medium, which may be enough to hook some people. I want to show what stained glass can do and break it out of stereotypes that limit it. I want to show people that stained glass can exist in equal respect to other conventional artworks in a gallery or museum setting." Bouncing from one high school to the next, at 16 Olwen was strongly considering dropping out. A local stained glass artist offered him a bit of foiling work to help her prepare for the holiday craft season. This mentor ended up encouraging him to finish high school, college and apply for an international exchange so he could see the world. After traveling and a long hiatus from artmaking, Olwen returned to Montreal to pursue glass in his own direction, a solitary path he is still navigating. Beyond basic copperfoil techniques, he had no experience with glass painting and was feeling frustrated with the design limitations of the lead line. Someone gifted his mentor with a glass kiln that she passed along to Olwen, and eventually he found the courage to do his first tests and taught himself to paint on glass. Now in an improved studio space, Olwen is perfecting his painting skills surrounded by tables and benches he built to his specific needs. He says: "Working with stained glass allows me to make art that is both physical and ephemeral: solid in its construction, yet constantly shifting with the light that passes through it. I am drawn to the paradox of permanence and fragility in this material. It can last centuries, yet remains vulnerable to the slightest fracture. That duality often mirrors the subjects I explore – the delicate equilibrium between beauty and decline, abundance and desolation." In recent years, Olwen's focus has turned toward two main directions – landscapes that hover between the real and the imagined, and Memento Mori -style pieces that explore mortality. He approaches the landscapes not as faithful depictions of place, but as emotional and environmental reflections of a planet in flux. Each work is painted and assembled by hand, the glass is layered with paint and fired many times to achieve the highest quality glasswork. "This work is a labor of love, and I believe working with glass is my life's purpose. Glass artists in 2025 have a responsibility to keep interest in this artform alive, and that can be done by testing the limits, breaking the rules and drawing attention any way they can. Personally, I aim for a balance of paying respect to the traditional compositions, subjects and techniques while portraying contemporary messaging. In this way I feel like I'm wrapping new flesh on the bones of an ancient craft."

Laura Donefer is known for artwork that pushes boundaries by exploring memory, assault, bereavement, joy and madness. Celebrated for her innovative, colorful blown glass and flameworked Amulet Baskets , the artist has been using glass as the primary medium in her work for over 40 years, all while teaching, promoting the glass arts worldwide, and producing her unforgettable Glass Fashion Show (GFS). Donefer has produced 15 of her extraordinary fashion shows, many for the Glass Art Society (GAS). In fact, at GAS Murano 2018, her remarkable and ground-breaking event included 33 glass costumes worn by models as they glided past thrilled onlookers through the canals of Murano, Italy. Award-winning documentary filmmaker David Marshall of Blue Sky Projects Films has undertaken a years-long documentary project dedicated to capturing both the history of Donefer's GFS and the work artists are undertaking to present a captivating and memorable show at GAS's June 2026 conference to be held at the Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York. Writes Donefer's assistant and GFS participating artist, Jennifer Hand: "Ten years ago this June, Rik Allen stepped onto a catwalk at the Corning Museum of Glass in a full astronaut getup accompanied by David Bowie's Major Tom and changed my life forever. I found my community in the rapturous throng of creative, compassionate and collaborative humanity who cheered alongside me that night: Die-hard lovers of glass art united by the magnificent spectacle of Laura Donefer's Glass Fashion Show. It was my first Glass Art Society conference, and though the days before the grand finale had been filled with inspiring content and exciting connections, nothing could have prepared me for the cascading emotions I felt witnessing the wild, weird wonder of the artists who had spent years creating costumes for this one-night-only performance. It would have been inconceivable to me at the time, but two short springs later, I danced in my own glass costume on Murano's grand canal to an equally exuberant crowd. It may be challenging for those who have not had the pleasure of attending one of these happenings to fully appreciate their splendor, but for prior participants and audience members alike, the verdict is unanimous - there is nothing on earth like the GFS. Since Donefer hosted the inaugural show at the first Canadian GAS Conference in 1989, she has traveled around the world putting on versions of the event - including several at Corning, Toledo and Toronto, and one particularly raunchy romp in New Orleans. AACG member Beth Hylen, who has been in every glass fashion show except the first, credits the events with transforming her from a quiet librarian to a glassy diva. Hylen describes that experience as a "dream," saying, 'Strutting on the stage is so much fun. The energy behind the scenes is electric, and Laura encourages us to energize our performance on stage. I love working for months creating weird and wonderful wearable glass, and there's nothing like watching the artists who put so much time to create their creations seeing it all come together.' An evening of transcendent beauty is arguably an end goal in itself, but the GFS has impacts far beyond the moment when the last bow has been taken and the last shard of glass swept from the stage. In the years leading up to each fashion show, Donefer provides her encouragement, advice and mentorship to each participant, building a sense of community and modeling her style of unapologetically ebullient leadership to each new generation of GFS artists. GFS veterans seeing each other in the wild at glass world events have a unique bond, and, if we're being fair, an almost evangelical zeal to lure outsiders into the fandom. Neither Donefer nor the models and artists for the performance are compensated for their time, materials or travel to participate - they work their glassy magic into exquisite wearable art out of sheer love of the community and the desire to make the audience gasp in astonished joy.. When Donefer delivers lectures on the history of the Glass Fashion Show, she shares a multitude of stories from her decades leading this singular aspect of the glass field - friendships made, injuries narrowly avoided, and institutional boundaries skirted. Profound storyteller that she is, her lectures are equal parts entertaining and educational, but alone they cannot tell the full story of this cultural phenomenon. Recognizing the magnitude of Donefer's contribution to the trajectory of the glass community, award-winning film maker David Marshall of Blue Sky Projects Films has undertaken a years-long documentary project dedicated to capturing… the Glass Fashion Show… Marshall has begun filming interviews with Donefer and her participating artists, including teams from Murano, Hilltop Artists in Tacoma and Project Fire in Chicago. Film crews will also be on hand in Corning this June to do cinematic justice to the detail and exquisite skilling of this year's costumes, which have been mandated by Donefer to be the most extravagant ever - headpieces, footwear, and head-to-toe glass on every model. Between the passion and labor of the artists and Marshall's thoughtful filmmaking, the documentary will properly honor and record the unparalleled contributions Donefer has made to glass history." Enjoy this podcast conversation with Donefer, Hand, and participating artists Susan Bloch and Hylen, about their memories of and contributions to the Glass Fashion Show. Supporters of Donefer's Glass Fashion Show are welcome and encouraged to donate via GoFundMe to help defray the costs of production. Executive Producer credits are available above a certain threshold of donation, and inquiries can be sent directly to Donefer at lauraglassfashion2026@gmail.com. To donate, please visit: https://gofund.me/3e4039468

Investigating interpersonal themes and the notion of community, Jen Elek is a studio artist and educator based in Seattle, Washington. She creates objects and installations of colorful glass and neon light employed as a form of non-verbal communication. Her most recent glass series titled Doliums is inspired by large Roman clay storage containers. Elek received her BFA from Alfred University in Metal and Hot Glass sculpture in 1994, after training as a welder in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She was a student of Michael Scheiner, Dante Marioni, and Ann Wahlstrom at Pilchuck Glass School, and studied with Maestro Lino Tagliapietra at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. In addition to creating her own work, Elek has assisted glass artists such as Dale Chihuly, Kiki Smith, Preston Singletary, and Tagliapietra, on whose team she worked as a key member for 15 years. A vibrant contemporary glass artist, she exhibits alongside artists of other mediums, breaking some of the barriers that have kept glass in the realm of craft and offering it as a worthy medium of contemporary art. A member of the Northwest artist community, Elek's involvement in art organizations includes: Pilchuck Glass School, the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Hilltop Artists, and as a guest lecturer at the University of Washington in Seattle. Her work has been exhibited at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Tacoma Art Museum, Pittsburgh Glass Center, and Traver Gallery in Seattle. Elek maintains a studio in south Seattle with husband Jeremy Bert, a Pacific Northwest neon artist with whom she collaborated on their project Illuminated Forest as well as a permanent public installation titled The Illuminated Palouse for the Port of Seattle, located near the D gates at SeaTac International Airport. Utilizing blown furnace glass, Elek creates sculptural objects that display the material's ability to reflect, magnify and represent bold color. Traditional and innovative processes combine in her work to create colorful landscapes of glass. In the spring of 2017, she was awarded the Pilchuck Artist at Work Residency where she developed a new body of work titled Visual Fun , which highlighted the infallibility and vibrant colors of glass. Elek has traveled to Canada, Japan, Australia, and throughout the United States teaching glassblowing workshops. In 2026 she will be an instructor at Tulsa Glassblowing School, Tulsa, Oklahoma, May 14 – 19, residency May 20 – 23; at UrbanGlass, Brooklyn, New York, June 23 – 27; and at the Studio of the Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York, August 31 – September 5. She will be a gaffer at Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, Washington, July 9 – 26.

Ariana Makau, founder of Nzilani Glass Conservation, was the second person in the world – and the first woman – to receive a Master's Degree in Stained Glass Conservation from the Royal College of Art in London. Equally comfortable on a job site, at a board meeting or in a museum, Makau has over 30 years of experience with art and architectural preservation. Her work is most fulfilling at the intersection of equity, preservation and art. Nzilani Glass Conservation is an award-winning firm and one of the few companies in the United States qualified to create new or preserve historical glass works . Makau's company specializes in architectural art glass providing safe, museum-quality services for private residences, historic buildings and museums. Collaborating with high-end metal and woodworkers, engineers, and general contractors to solve unique problems, Nzilani's creative solutions pair old-school fabrication with modern techniques. With core values " Be Safe. Have Fun. Do Excellent Work ", Nzilani leads the industry in best practices for protection from lead exposure with the idea that being aware of your environment frees one to do their best work and have fun while doing it. Working with stained glass requires following strict protocols regarding environmental safety, the proper handling of hazardous materials such as lead and asbestos, and a profound knowledge of structural integrity during fabrication. Says Makau: "As the recognized leader in the field, we adhere to the most current Cal/OSHA Health & Safety standards throughout all processes. It is a cornerstone at Nzilani, and our highest priority, to maintain the health and safety of our employees, clients, contractors and all those who come in contact with the windows. This includes, but is not exhaustive of, material testing to identify hazards, sealing off of active areas and the work therein by certified contractors, and use of proper personal protection (PPE's) by our team." Approachable and non-judgmental, Makau enjoys sharing her professional experience in classrooms, public talks, and national conferences that bridge the gap between health and safety regulators and those involved in stained-glass. She is also the executive director of The Fillet Foundation, which she founded in 2024 to "bring underserved people and overlooked places to the forefront of preservation." Her work experience spans numerous museums in the US and abroad including the V&A, the Met, SFMoMA, and Getty Museum. Makau has served on the board of the Stained Glass Association of America (SGAA), is a Fellow of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC), and a current board member of the Western Chapter of the Association of Preservation Technology (APT). As the Interim Collections C.A.R.E. Director of Destination Crenshaw (DC) from 2023-2024, Makau ensured Southern California conservators were ready for future conservation efforts involving interns, documenting public art pieces as they are installed (ensuring their ongoing maintenance is considered from day one), and creating a framework for workforce development opportunities under the umbrella of "art preservation" to be highlighted for the next generation. Makau states: "One of my major goals is for people to reframe preservation to be considered parallel to the fabrication of new work. And, that preservation can also be applicable to place and people."

Susan Stinsmuehlen-Amend is an artist for whom ideas have always been more important than media, and possibly more integral to her work. It's interesting then that her art has been consistently viewed through the lens of glass. In the creation of her early X series to more recent Calendar Notations , she has pioneered techniques such as non-traditional, unfired painting on glass, mixing glass with other media, and presenting painted, decorated glass on the wall in reflected light. Throughout her career, the artist distilled her own life experiences in the creation of progressive and experimental work. While studying Fine Arts at the University of Texas, Austin, in 1973, Stinsmuehlen-Amend was serendipitously introduced to glass and went on to become partner with Rodney Smith and designer of Renaissance Glass, an architectural glass studio. Beyond teaching and employing 14 artists, she built a creative hub that included studio space, glass supplies, a hot glass studio, education and exhibitions. Understanding the cutting edge in the field, Stinsmuehlen-Amend invited luminaries in the Studio Glass movement such as Dale Chihuly, Paul Marioni, William Morris, and Narcissus Quagliata, among others, to lecture and teach in the early 1980s. The studio became the center for contemporary glass in Texas from 1973 to 1987. While balancing single motherhood, donating time to the arts, and running her business, she became the Glass Art Society's first woman president (1984 – '86). Concurrent with designing stained glass commissions, Stinsmuehlen-Amend was determined to make the craft form a means for personal expression. Through experimentation and rebellion and influenced by the local punk scene, her radical fashion designer best friend, Pattern & Decoration and Neo-Expressionism in art, as well as innovations in the world of craft, her work became unrestrained, kinetic, glittery, and jarring—defiantly not "tasteful" or functional. Combining mixed media with glass was a new idea at the time. For Stinsmuehlen-Amend, the shifting qualities of glass itself—its capacity to reveal, obscure, reflect, and distort—became integral to how meaning unfolds. Rooted in stained glass's narrative tradition, her story emerged through her everyday stream of consciousness rooted in the surreal logic of dreams. In 1987, Stinsmuehlen-Amend relocated to Los Angeles, where she became a full-time artist; solo exhibitions and dynamic public art commissions followed. She was the lead artist on the Hollywood Demonstration Project in Hollywood, completing a precast concrete crosswalk with inlaid glass and bronze and an adjunct wrought iron public space. In 1994, she completed leaded glass for the AT&T corporate headquarters and The Jewish Museum, both in in New York City. Throughout these decades, she maintained her commitment to teaching, returning to Pilchuck Glass School repeatedly (1980 to 2019) and serving as a visiting artist at RISD, RIT, Tyler School of Art, California College of the Arts, and numerous other institutions. Stinsmuehlen-Amend's work is included in major collections including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Detroit Institute of the Arts, Oakland Museum of California, Corning Museum of Glass, Tacoma Museum of Glass, and Museum of Art and Design. She has received two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, two Pilchuck Hauberg Fellowships, and the 2007 Brychtová Libenský Award. The artist served 14 years on Pilchuck's Board of Directors and is a Trustee Emeritus of The American Craft Council and an Honorary Life Member of the Glass Art Society. She was recently awarded by the American Craft Council with the biennial College of Fellows honor for contributions to the craft ecosystem. Opening on May 16, 2026, at the Corning Museum of Glass, Tough Stuff: Women in the American Glass Studio will feature Stinsmuehlen-Amend's work. This new exhibition celebrates the female artists who revolutionized American Studio glass. The artist states: "Many artists found my loose and inclusive approach to working with glass inspirational because I was continually violating preconceived notions about craft and glass specifically."

Recently, Nadine Saylor has been creating a series of gas and oil cans featuring imagery of her local surroundings. These more "masculine" objects remind her of the things her grandfather had in his shed. In thinking about gender and how it relates to the objects with which we surround ourselves, she investigates what role gender plays in our world writ large. Assistant Professor of Glass and Sculpture at University of Nebraska, Kearney, Saylor is originally from Hershey, Pennsylvania. She received her BFA in Photography from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and her MFA in Glass from Alfred University in upstate New York. Since then, she has taught at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, Harrisburg Area Community College in Pennsylvania, and at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. In addition to teaching at the collegiate level, she has taught many workshops internationally including The Studio at the Corning Museum of Glass and Penland School of Craft in North Carolina. She has also given demonstrations nationally and lectured internationally. Saylor has exhibited in many exhibitions across the country including the Cafesjian Art Trust, in Shoreview, MN, Toyama's International Glass Exhibition 2024 in Japan and has shown at SOFA Chicago. She recently completed a commission of two works Carrie Oilcan and Copper Kettle Nebraska for the Federal Reserve Board Gallery to be on display in Washington, DC, and to compliment her works commemorating American industry that were purchased in 2024. Derivative of her childhood, Saylor's works are instilled with love of Americana and history along with an interest in the stories behind the objects, the places, and the lives they have touched. For example, Saylor's series of pincushions began with the familiar Tomato and Strawberry forms. In researching the history of these objects, the artist learned the pincushion was placed on the mantle to ward off evil spirits. When tomatoes were out of season, women made them out of fabric and used them as voodoo dolls. "I enjoy these kinds of historical narratives and use them as a vantage point in my work," she says. Imagery tells a story on the surface of many Saylor works. For example, Foggy Morning in the Black Swamp is a replica of an antique coffee pot she found in an antique store. The imagery on the surface is inspired by the artist's bike rides on the old railroad trail bike path through the Black Swamp. She states: "My surroundings continue to affect the imagery on my glass as I lived on a farm in Southern Illinois with an array of chickens, goats and horses. This nostalgic life took me back to traveling to my grandmother's house in the countryside of rural Pennsylvania. Not only does my current rural life in Nebraska play a part in my glasswork, but I am also interested in the memories sparked by certain objects and what roles they play in our lives."

Rick Beck's modern cast and carved figurative glass sculptures are inspired by industrial and architectural works as well as the human form, with an emphasis on formal aspects. Interested in playing the volumes of mass against the rhythm of the lines, Beck enjoys the interplay of the visual versus the verbal, creating art that challenges the eye as well as the mind. Beck states: "My wife, Valerie, got me a book about the competitive relationship between Picasso and Matisse. Their artistic dialogue about the figure has fired my imagination, especially the way they shared and borrowed images and ideas from one another, as well as from history and literature. Between this book and visits to the Art Institute of Chicago, I've been inspired by the use of shape, form, and mass to create something more universal than the literal subject." A studio artist who was based in Spruce Pine, North Carolina, for 30 years before moving to Hawaii in 2020, Beck began working in glass at Hastings College in Nebraska, where he received his BA. The artist received his MFA from Southern Illinois University, where he studied with Bill Boysen. He was awarded residencies at the Appalachian Center for Crafts 1989 to 1991, and in 1994 received a Visual Arts Fellowship from the North Carolina Arts Council, followed by a National Endowment for the Arts regional Visual Arts Fellowship from the Southern Arts Federation in 1995. A student of the Studio Glass movement, Beck has assisted at Pilchuck Glass School, assisting artists Curtiss Brock and Jan Mares, as well as at the Penland School of Craft. Beck currently shares a studio with wife Valerie Thomas Beck in Hakalau, Hawaii. Valerie has been a designer and co-conspirator to Rick since 1984. Both artists have been artists-in-residence at Penland School of Crafts, North Carolina, (1991-94) and have also been instructors there. Their blown glass work consists mainly of vessels – canvasses for imagery based on dreams and experiences ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. These vessels document their lives while providing beauty and pleasure. Since moving to the Big Island, Beck's challenge in making glass work is two-fold. First, to create work without using fossil fuels or adding to the demand for capacity on the electrical grid. Their new studio is powered by a solar/photo voltaic and battery system. Second, to create work that excites and challenges his concepts of art inside these new energy parameters. For him, formal aspects are crucial. Beck stretches and manipulates common shapes and objects, reducing the objects to pattern and geometry. Currently, he is producing work focusing on the geometry of life, plant, and human forms. Beck's work will be on view in 2026 at Blue Print Gallery, Dallas, Texas, opening February 26; at Hidell Brooks Gallery, Charlotte, North Carolina, in May; at Blue Spiral 1 group show, Asheville, North Carolina; and at Ken Saunders, Chicago, Illinois. His work is also represented by Raven Gallery, Aspen, Colorado.

Karisa Gregorio's autonomous stained glass panels explore themes of sex, death, God, the Devil, pleasure, temptation, intimacy, love, lust, and indulgence. The relationship between glass and light in stained glass allows her to create works that feel alive . Using traditional processes as well as techniques developed by modern stained glass master Judith Schaechter, the depth and intimacy of Gregorio's materials create a world in which the pleasures of the flesh and emotions of the heart are equally illuminated and illuminating. Having received her BFA in Craft + Material studies, with a major in glass and minor in figurative illustration from the University of the Arts in 2016, Gregorio was named a 2025 MacPherson-Wortley Emerging Artist and received the Glass Art Society (GAS) Emerging Artist Award. Generously funded by Nancy and Roger MacPherson and Barbara and Richard Wortley, the MacPherson-Wortley Emerging Artist Award is presented annually to three exemplary emerging artists in the glass community. This prestigious juried award includes a cash prize, a special lecture slot at the annual GAS Conference, a digital exhibition catalog, and a residency at the Chrysler Museum of Art Perry Glass Studio. "We are honored by the MacPhersons and Wortleys' visionary commitment to emerging artists. Their support allows us to expand what our Emerging Artist Awardees receive; a larger cash prize and a residency can be remarkable opportunities for emerging artists as they seek to expand their practice," said Brandi P. Clark, GAS executive director. In 2024, Gregorio's work was featured in a solo exhibition Worldly Pleasures at Rick Prigg's Gallery 26 in Philadelphia. Serving as adjunct professor in glass at The Crefeld School as well as coldworker at John Pomp Studios, TA for Glenn Carter Assemblage at Pilchuck Glass School, studio assistant for Judith Schaechter, and TA for Wes Valdez and David King, Gregorio has been the owner of Thirst Glass since 2020. Gregorio aims to one day create a cathedral in which enlightenment comes from the experiences in life that, in her opinion, make life worth living. She seeks to create an environment in which relationships between the viewer and work, and the relationships between people, are not limited, but allowed to be felt and fully indulged in.

Derek Hunt is an award-winning glass artist and educator, a Fellow of the British Society of Master Glass Painters, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an accredited stained glass conservator. He designs and makes glass artworks for public spaces, private homes and churches using methods to include traditional stained glass as well as working with new techniques such as screen and digital printing to push the creative boundaries of the medium. In addition to creating and restoring stained glass works, Hunt hosts specialist Master Classes throughout the year at his studio in Leicestershire, teaching adults glass painting methods and techniques. Additionally, he runs a popular YouTube channel making inspirational videos and tutorials as well as podcasts with his favorite stained glass artists. His Instagram is part promotion and part inspiration for anyone interested in the medieval art and craft of stained glass. Says Hunt: "My ambition is to ensure new stained glass not only survives but thrives in the 21st Century, and the very best way to do that is to inspire the next generation." Born in 1962, Hunt is a mentor for stained glass artists on the BBC series Make it at Market. He earned his B.A. (Hons) Degree in Art and Design from Edinburgh Art School, 1980 – '84. He established his studio, Limelight Studios Ltd., in 1985. The artist won a Guildford Design Award for his 9-panel memorial window at St. Martin's Church, East Horsley, Guildford in 2025. Other notable Hunt works include a new north aisle window for St. Mary's Church , Melton Mowbray in memory of John Plumb, a major church benefactor. The Tree of Life includes the coat of arms for Melton Borough Council and Melton Mowbray Town Estate. Other local references include a pork pie and Stilton cheese, and a dove with a brush dipped in red paint. This refers to an 1837 incident in which a drunk Marquis of Waterford and friends painted Melton Mowbray's toll-bar and other buildings red. For John Rylands University Library Manchester, Hunt created an 11-meter-tall glass sculpture entitled Totem , situated in the new extension to the Manchester University Library. Using a combination of digital printing and bonded handmade antique glass, the sculpture is back lit with an arrangement of LED lights. The design includes various visual references to the library's archive collections of important first edition books. Hunt has also undertaken stained glass conservation work on a number of notable buildings including Glasgow Cathedral , Coventry Cathedral , Kenilworth Castle Warwickshire, Oscott College Birmingham, Staveley Hall Derbyshire, Ayscoughfee Hall Lincolnshire, Manor Lodge Sheffield and Nevill Holt Hall Leicestershire. Says Hunt: "I help artists build their skills, confidence and creative style in stained glass. If you want to learn all about creating beautiful stained glass you've come to the right place. I'll help you navigate your creative journey, giving you the confidence to create. It's safe to say I've got lots of experience on everything to do with designing, making and conserving stained glass. Every project is unique, with a focus on collaboration and community engagement being at the heart of my many commissions."

Upon graduation from the Tyler School of Art and Architecture with a BFA in glass, Gemma Hollister was awarded the Windgate-Lamar fellowship from the Center for Craft, which allowed her and her partner to start a small studio in Philadelphia, Antolini Glass Co. While balancing her personal artistic practice and work as a production glassblower, the artist recently appeared on Netflix's Blown Away: Extreme Heat . The show inspired new work, which she made both in her own studio and during a residency at Monterey Glassworks. States Hollister: "Blown Away gave me a chance to challenge myself and level up my skills in glassmaking. It isn't very often that you are given such specific parameters and a time crunch to make your work. I gained so much confidence in myself as a gaffer and an artist. Looking back, it was also very special to me to be able to represent a younger generation of glassblowers, especially female glassblowers, on such a big stage." A 2023 Saxe Emerging Artist nominee, Hollister developed a practice that involves creating fantastical objects, sculptures, and installations that center around themes of imagination and control, manifesting as both literal and abstract sculpture. For her, working with glass is an exercise in the belief that her own actions directly affect change. She works to further understand the material so that she can control its outcomes by working with direction and intention. She says: "The act of creating glass, as in many crafts, is a protest against an unresolved and rapidly evolving technological world. Glass historically has proven the power to educate, inspire, and call to action those who observe it. In my practice, I manipulate traditional associations with both blown and stained glass — its narrative structure and divine light — by addressing contemporary issues that I want viewers to reflect upon." Hollister has traveled the country as a student and teaching assistant at institutions such as the Corning Museum of Glass (CMoG) and Pilchuck Glass School. She received a partial workshop scholarship from CMoG in 2024 and a Pilchuck Glass School Summer Staff Scholarship in 2023. She has been a teaching assistant to both hot glass and stained glass greats such as Martin Janecký, Jason McDonald, Bill Gudenrath, Aya Oki and Judith Schaechter. Hollister participated in Blown Away Season 4 Group Exhibition at CMoG in 2024, an exhibition with Karen Willenbrink Johnsen and Morgan Peterson at Traver Gallery, and a solo exhibition titled Heaven Is Full Of Junk in 2022. She will teach in 2026 at CMoG August 9 through 22 with her partner Tate Newfield.

Using Etsy for pattern sales, Patreon for teaching classes and Instagram for promoting her artwork, Hana Hastings, Sand and Fire Works, Grimsby, Ontario, Canada, has acquired a substantial following for her offerings in stained glass. Wanting to differentiate herself from the more traditional glass designs and commonly seen pattern work, Hastings brought nature and natural subjects into the homes of her patrons by experimenting with 3D sculpture and unique textures and colors of glass. Mastering her marketing efforts on social media, the artist grew a following significant enough to dedicate full-time hours to her craft and begin teaching her techniques online to other budding glass artists. Says Hastings: "I've only been a full-time glass artist for five months after nearly two decades of being a hobbyist and in business for six years total. In 2026, I hope to focus less on producing work for sale and more on artistic exploration in my chosen semi-sculptural approach to the Tiffany technique. I'm also absolutely fixated on sustainability in glass art and am working towards being a fully no waste studio." Inspired by nature and her "dangerously vast" collection of houseplants, Hastings developed a series of 3D sculptures in rarely seen textures and colors of glass. She made a name for herself via this unusual and modern take on design in the local glass scene as well as the online sphere. Her new work sells out on Instagram in as little as six minutes on release. With over 270K followers on that platform, Hastings is one of the most followed glass crafters of today. Hastings' work is deeply personal, a connection with glass rooted in the artisan legacy of her grandfather and teacher, Seamus. They spent countless hours of her childhood working together, and those moments shaped her love of glass and knowledge of the craft. Two decades later, the artist channels that heritage into her own practice, designing original work and small sculptures inspired by the forms, geometry and textures found in the natural world.