Mathieu Grodet: Expressing Complex Modern Themes via Multi-Disciplinary Glass Works
Talking Out Your Glass podcast
Using over 17,500 letters of handmade murrine tiles, Mathieu Grodet composed La Déclaration des Droits de l’Homme et du Citoyen, which translated means the Declaration of Human Rights, which was written in 1789. Recreated in mosaic style, dark red was used to represent blood, with the ivory-colored background symbolizing the ivory tower that freedom must be taken from. Intense attention to detail combined with a contemporary message defines Grodet’s multi-disciplinary works in glass. A French-born artist living and working in Canada, Grodet also creates thin and elegant...
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Joshua Hershman: Combining Casting, Coldworking and Photography in Groundbreaking Sculpture
Talking Out Your Glass podcast
An American born artist dedicated to developing new techniques of glass working, Joshua Hershman combines optical physics with the fluidity of glass to make his contemporary sculpture. By harnessing light though hand-polished lenses, he employs unique methods of casting, coldworking, and photography in his boundary pushing work. Hershman states: “My work offers meditations on the complexities within the concept of photography and the repercussions of the camera’s impact on culture. The incredibly creative and destructive nature of photography is both inspiring and alarming to me. It...
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Kari Russell-Pool: Flameworking Glass Heirlooms
Talking Out Your Glass podcast
Primarily a flameworker, Kari Russell-Pool approaches her work in a painterly fashion. She is interested in the transformation of an object into an heirloom. Made from hand-pulled glass rods, her Safety Mom Series, for example, was inspired by post-September 11 ideas of keeping a family safe. That series, in incongruously cheerful colors, is dominated by images of guns and keys, and the delicate glasswork is patterned to look like traditional needlework, which kept women’s hands busy in the 18th and 19th centuries. For her Trophy Series, Russell-Pool flameworked a strikingly delicate and...
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Dylan Martinez: Glass Sculpture Confronting the Limits of Perception
Talking Out Your Glass podcast
At the heart of Dylan Martinez’s work lies the striking H2O/SiO2 series, inspired by the artistic tradition of Trompe L’œil—the technique that deceives the eye into perceiving three-dimensional objects on a flat surface. Each sculpture is meticulously hot-sculpted and hand-molded by Martinez, capturing the fluid movement of rising bubbles and the delicate form of what appears, at first glance, to be bags of water. These pieces transcend objecthood; they are immersive experiences that invite stillness, inspection, and recalibration of the senses. Martinez reflects, “Our vision has the...
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Melissa Janda: Sharing Willet Studios’ Gems at AGG Conference
Talking Out Your Glass podcast
As lead painter and art department manager for Willet Studios in Winona, Minnesota, Melissa Janda will speak about Willet’s large-scale projects at the upcoming American Glass Guild Conference, being held in Mesa, Arizona, from May 22 – 24, 2025. With 30 years of experience in the field of stained glass, Janda is adept at all aspects of stained glass production, specializing in glass painting, design and restoration work. From St. Agnes Catholic Church in Key Biscayne, Florida, to St. Jane de Chantal Catholic Church, Bethesda, Maryland, the results are stunning and speak...
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Meggy Wilm: Artist and Owner of Colorado Glass Works, D&L Art Glass Supply
Talking Out Your Glass podcast
One of the most followed stained glass artists on social media, Meggy Wilm of Colorado Glass Works, Boulder, Colorado, shares her creations with nearly 275K (and growing) followers on Instagram – attracting a new audience of young enthusiasts to the medieval craft. Wilm and her husband Dustin Mayfield also recently purchased Boulder-based D&L Art Glass Supply from Leslie Silverman, who dedicated 50 years to the company she founded. Experienced entrepreneurs, Wilm and Mayfield have a deep appreciation for the art glass industry and a forward-thinking vision for...
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Murano’s Ferro Brothers: Carved in Glass
Talking Out Your Glass podcast
Working with abrasive spinning wheels, the Ferro brothers cold work glass vessels in brilliant colors. Their dramatic cuts are sometimes five layers deep, and they cradle each piece for hours, days, and often weeks, painstakingly grinding away to reveal what lies underneath. There is always the danger that the piece will shatter, so it is a painstaking process. The finished vessel is a passionate work of art in vibrant translucent colors and energetic textures. Pietro and Riccardo Ferro were born in 1975 and 1980, respectively. Under the guidance of their father, cold-working Maestro Paolo...
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Stephanie Trenchard: Casting Womens’ Narratives in Glass
Talking Out Your Glass podcast
Stephanie Trenchard’s multi-disciplinary creative process includes painting and poetry along with cast glass. With a focus on biographical stories of how women artists have navigated careers and partnerships, motherhood and making a living while still focusing on their creative practice, the work also discusses the price the art has to pay in this grand juggling act. The artist prioritizes the actual experience of the work, making and seeing it, over the classification of genre or ownership of an idea. Says Trenchard: “I create my own visual vocabulary in storytelling. Using...
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Joyce J. Scott: Repositioning Craft as a Forceful Stage for Social Commentary and Activism
Talking Out Your Glass podcast
For more than three decades, trailblazing artist and activist Joyce J. Scott has elevated the creative potential of beadwork as a relevant contemporary art form. Scott uses off-loom, hand-threaded glass beads to create striking figurative sculptures, wall hangings, and jewelry informed by her African American ancestry, the craft traditions of her family (including her mother, renowned quilter Elizabeth T. Scott), and traditional Native American techniques, such as the peyote stitch. Each object that Scott creates is a unique, vibrant, and challenging work of art developed with imagination,...
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Studio Glass Pioneer Joel Philip Myers
Talking Out Your Glass podcast
self-described loner, Joel Philip Myers developed his skills in relative isolation from the Studio Glass movement. With works inspired by a vast array of topics ranging from his deep love of the Danish countryside to Dr. Zharkov, the artist avoided elaborate sculpture in favor of substantial vessels that are simple yet powerful. States Myers: “In 1964, on the occasion of an exhibition titled Designed for Production: The Craftsman’s Approach, I wrote in an essay in Craft Horizons magazine: ‘My approach to glass, as it is to clay, is to allow the material an...
info_outlineCombining technical skill with a strong aesthetic, flameworking pioneer Sally Prasch is known for her work that places other-worldly figures in glowing globes filled with rare gasses. She has also constructed portraits from broken shards of glass and is well known for her goblets made with coiled stems that allow them to bounce when handled. Her latest work incorporates cast bronze with glass.
But perhaps Prasch’s greatest fulfillment has come from teaching. She has taught flameworking workshops at UrbanGlass, Brooklyn; the famous Niijima Glass School, Japan; Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, WA; Penland School of Craft, Penland, NC; Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh, PA; Grove Gas & Light Co, University of CA, San Diego, CA; Ingalena Klenell’s Studio, Sweden, and many more.
States Prasch: “Teaching has always been a part of my life. My parents were teachers, and both my brother and sister have also been teachers. Lloyd Moore, my first teacher, found it very important not to have any secrets but to share your knowledge with others – share your love of glass and making things. He taught thousands of people, and I continue in his tradition. Lloyd started me teaching at age 15. It was scary for me to teach adults, but made me practice things over and over again. We started people on soft glass tubing and then worked them up to borosilicate.”
Prasch began her career at age 13 with Moore working as a part-time apprentice at the University of Nebraska and then worked as a glassblowing instructor for the City of Lincoln Recreation Department. Later on, she took workshops from some of the best glassblowers of the time including William Bernstein, Ray Schultz, and Lino Tagliapietra. She attended the University of Kansas from 1977 to 1980 and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art in Glass and Ceramics.
After college, Prasch started her glass art business that is still active today. She soon began to receive recognition for her artistic work and was selected for the Corning Museum of Glass’ New Glass Review in 1993. The artist has been attending Glass Art Society (GAS) Conferences since 1978 and continues to participate by giving demonstrations and lec-moes, serving on the GAS Advisory Board and working with the organization’s History Committee. In 1985, Prasch received her Certificate in Scientific Glass Technology from Salem Community College (SCC), Carneys Point, New Jersey. Soon afterwards, she obtained a position with AT&T doing large quartz work for the semiconductor industry.
Continuing with her studies, Prasch earned her degree in Applied Science from SCC in 1986. Later that year she got a job as a scientific glassblower and glass instructor at the University of Massachusetts. She has worked as a scientific glassblower at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (UMass Amherst), Syracuse University, and the University of Vermont, Burlington.
Currently, Prasch is the scientific glassblower and also teaches Scientific Glassblowing and the Properties of Glass to graduate students in Chemistry, Art and Physics at University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She is a member of the American Scientific Glassblowers Society (ASGS) and the director of the Northeast section. Her ASGS experience includes participating in seminars on such subjects like vacuum technology, quartz technology, and glass sealing. She has instructed a neon class with David Wilson, presented a paper on her work with the discovery of the gravitational wave, and co-chaired symposiums.
In 2025, Prasch will exhibit her work in Glass Lifeforms at the Pittsburgh Glass Center, opening February 7 and running through April 20. Her work will also be on view in Glasstastic at the Brattleboro Art Museum, Brattleboro, VT, March 22 through November 1. The artist will teach at the Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh, PA, from July 28 – August 1. After curating the annual glass exhibit at Leverett Crafts and Arts in Leverett, MA for the month of November, Prasch will have a one-week fall residency with George Kennard at SCC, as well as a residency at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
In 2026, the Herter main gallery at UMass Amherst will host a solo exhibit of Prasch’s work from January 29 through May 8. The opening will take place Friday, April 24, 2026, from 5 to 7 p.m. with an artist talk from 6 to 6:30 p.m. Her work will also be on display at the Science Library and at the Durfee Conservatory at UMass during the show.
As Prasch develops new work, including pieces for Laura Donefer’s 2026 Glass Fashion Show to be held at GAS, she continues to teach and fabricate scientific glassware at UMass. She says: “I have taught on average 25 students a month for my entire career, only taking a break during the pandemic. Obviously, teaching is a part of me, and I gain so much. It is not about teaching, not about glass, not about notoriety, not about pay – it is about the energy between people. It is about trust.”
UPCOMING EVENT LINKS
Spring and Fall semester classes and weekend workshops at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst
https://www.umass.edu/natural-sciences/research/scientific-glassblowing-laboratory
February 7 – April 20, 2025 – Glass Lifeforms Exhibit, Pittsburgh Glass Center
https://www.pittsburghglasscenter.org/event/exhibition-lifeforms/
March 22 – November 1, 2025 – Glasstastic, Brattleboro Art Museum, Brattleboro VT
https://www.brattleboromuseum.org/2024/09/06/glasstastic-2025/
March 21 – 23, 2025 – International Flameworking Conference, Salem Community College, Carneys Point, NJ
https://www.salemcc.edu/glass/international-flameworking-conference
April 5, 2025 – Northeast American Scientific Glassblowers Section Meeting, Cornell University
https://northeast.asgs-glass.org/
May 14 – 17, 2025 –Glass Art Society Conference
https://www.glassart.org/conference/texas-2025/
July 28 – August 1, 2025 – Teaching at the Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh PA
https://canvas.pittsburghglasscenter.org/classes/1632
Fall, 2025 – one week residency with George Kennard at Salem Community College, Carneys Point, NJ
https://www.salemcc.edu/glass
Fall, 2025 – one week residency at the University of Massachusetts
https://www.umass.edu/natural-sciences/research/scientific-glassblowing-laboratory
January 29 – May 8, 2026 – Exhibit at the Herter Gallery, University of Massachusetts, Amherst Opening April 24, 5 – 7 p.m. with artist talk 6:00 – 6:30pm
https://www.umass.edu/herterartgallery/herter-art-gallery
January 29 – May 8, 2026 Exhibit at the Science and Engineering Library and the Durfee Conservatory
https://www.library.umass.edu/sel/
https://www.umass.edu/natural-sciences/research/greenhouses/durfee-conservatory