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Spake Glass

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The colors, textures, and surfaces of my hand-blown glass vessels and sculptures are inspired by the beauty and wonder of the natural world. I gather references from photographic images, including aerial and drone photography, but the resulting colors and patterns are more akin to the sun-dappled scenes of impressionist paintings. By distilling the splendor and monumentality of nature into one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted art objects, I hope to spark fond recollections of time spent in nature: trips to a national park, a walk in the woods, or a spring day in a garden or meadow in full bloom. Much in the way that beaches, mountains, and landscapes are eroded over time by wind and water, the surface of each piece is treated for a smooth, matte finish. Some are carved to reveal the translucent interior below the colorful surface. The resulting textures confound perceptions of glass as a sleek, glossy material. The Studio My studio sits on a fifty-acre farm in rural Jasper, TN at the mouth of the Sequatchie Valley and the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. This idyllic setting—surrounded by hardwood forest, a spring-fed pond, and herds of deer—provides ample inspiration for my award-winning glasswork. I discovered glassblowing as an undergraduate student on a basketball scholarship at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. Awestruck at seeing molten glass gathered from the furnace onto steel blowpipes and manipulated into solid forms, I knew I’d found my calling. My transition from athlete to artisan was aided by my experience on the basketball court; both activities require teamwork, strength, and hand-eye coordination—I sometimes refer to glassblowing as the “extreme sport of the art-world.” For 30 years and counting, I’ve shared my one-of-a-kind glasswork in galleries, museum shops, and booths at juried art and craft shows throughout the country.

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