Vase by Scott Simmons

This blown glass vase measures approximately 6.25" x 9.75" x 5.5”

Handmade by Scott Simmons of Sunrise Glassworks in Belleville, Wisconsin.

I have been blowing glass since 1993.  I received my training at the University of Wisconsin, where I had worked for the previous 14 years as a biological     researcher.  In 1997 I built a hot glass studio at my home, on a hill outside of Madison, WI, overlooking the Sugar River Valley.  Now I blow glass all winter and garden in the summer.  I work alone in my studio, creating primarily functional pieces such as vases and bowls offhand at the furnace, using traditional tools and techniques.

Development of the work is intuitive and process oriented. One idea leads indirectly into another; make a piece, react to it, try something else.  Inspiration comes from all  directions; a dance, a painting, a sunset, a fish. 

I try to bring the emotion and spontaneity of a performance to the creation of a new piece.  All the setup, all the test pieces and trials are like rehearsal.  When I pick up a blowpipe the curtain goes up and the world shrinks down to the droplet of fire on the end of the pipe; no stopping, no going back, total focus. 

Find more of Scott's work here.