The Artists

Donna Branch’s glass work has been exhibited in group exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout the United States, including “Spotlight, American Craft Council Southeast Region Juried Exhibition” , “The Red Clay Survey”, Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, Alabama, and Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, Alabama. In addition, her work is in many private collections. Several publications have featured Donna’s work including the Southern Living, Birmingham News, and Birmingham Magazine. Her work has been featured on HGTV Television Network.

Our limited edition glass pieces will beautify the home or corporate office and are one of a kind, or numbered limited edition series. All of our pieces are completely made-by-hand using traditional methods of glassmaking. We are dedicated to producing the finest limited edition and small quantity glass art with the hope that our pieces will not only be enjoyed today, but will be valued and passed down from generation to generation. From the fire of the furnace to the hand of the artist, our studio is devoted to cause, ideal and purpose of supporting quality products and the local economy in an economically and environmentally sustainable way.

Instead of a sheet of paper, Gail works with a sheet of metal - 20 gauge steel. As with paper sculpture, Gail creates three-dimensional images from a flat sheet by folding and bending a shape she cuts with either a plasma torch or a pair of tin snips. "I explore metal's kinetic movement so pieces can bounce, fly or dance in the breeze. I love the curl as strips of metal become wild hair. I am awed as a turn of a metal head creates an intimate moment between lovers or parent and child"

The organic quality of her pieces transcend the connotations of the medium. Instead of harsh edges, there is line and movement. It is often a wonderful mystery as where the piece begins or ends! Each design weaves into itself creating the whole. Her collection includes works in stainless steel, rusted steel and a variety of colored powder-coated finishes. For more than a decade, we have celebrated love, family, success, marriage, and even loss through her sculptures. They decorate both the exceptional and common moments of our lives.

Ruthie’s timeless jewelry designs in gold and silver are fabricated, constructed, or cast via the lost wax vacuum cast process. The jewelry designs are fabricated from sheet, wire, and tubing and then soldered together. Other more organic designs, are first carved in wax and then casted in sterling silver or 14 and 18 karat gold. Ruthie loves being challenged by working with irregular shapes for bezel setting and has developed techniques to set drusy without breaking crystals. Very often, gold and silver are combined to create a unique multi-dimensional look.

“I have always had a life-long fascination with color and patterns in light. I remember as a child spending hours studying clouds, the flecks and veins of mica in granite, and water flow patterns in streams. My jewelry designs and stone colors are chosen with the idea in mind that light in its various levels of color and depth is released from the hidden shadows and dances through defiantly.”

“Artists’ designs evolve in different ways. Some craftspeople look at images for ideas; others will sketch out designs before they start creating. I like to sit by my pond and be entertained by the antics of the frogs, fish, dragonflies, and even the birds flying in for a drink of water. Most importantly, living in the mountains of western North Carolina has given me the opportunity to periodically get lost in the ripples and folds of the topography of the region. Cruising by car along the Blue Ridge Parkway or following the twists and turns of the “road less traveled by” always gives me an unexpected thrill of discovery as I take long walks along rivers and streams and just absorb different vignettes- tumbling waterfalls, unusual rock formations that glisten in fog or pop when sunlight comes out, seeing images in clouds, admiring the bark on gnarled and twisted tree trunks, looking at knot holes, and observing vine growth on trees and bushes. After these little trips, I very often just sit at my bench daydreaming into space. Certain images seem to resonate in my head and then show up magically in the jewelry that I create.”

Karen thoroughly enjoys involving all of her family members in her work. Her husband and their four children eagerly assist her in the studio, performing pre-firing prep work to final product sales, packaging and shipment. Having developed her Patented process for fusing glass, Karen artistically designs her Copyrighted products for your enjoyment. All of her products bring out the FUN in FUNctional artwork.

In my work I have found a balance between meaningful work and creative play. The production pottery line provides a consistent way of working that generates pieces that are in demand and leave me with a sense of accomplishment on any given day. I work hard to create well executed works that demonstrate good craftsmenship and a unique sense of design while providing an income that not only pays all of the expenses of a large studio facility, but also the compensation for a number of assistants. Within those parameters, I also find ways to be creative and introduce new ideas. New ideas could include the introduction of a new glaze, the development of a new form, the evolution of a long-standing concept or bringing in a whole new and radically different thing than anything that I have done before. This "play" is at heart of what it is the be an artist, and is the most rewarding part of the process.

"Douglas Frates spent his childhood in St. Louis, Missouri. After graduating from high school he enlisted in the Marine Corps and served his country in Iraq in 2003. Upon returning, he settled in Tucson, Arizona and attended college. After taking a course in glass blowing, he became enamored with the artistry and creativity of working with glass. He has since become dedicated to make it a centerpiece of his career. He has been blowing glass since 2004 and worked professionally from 2006 to 2008. Doug has worked for Tom Philabaum and with Fritz Driesbach in the past. He worked on Tom Philabaums prodution team. He moved to Columbus, O.H., to continue with his thriving glass career. Doug has shown at a national level and is a recognized glass artist.

""With my glass I am always striving to innovate. I believe that through this innovation I reach a certain level of creativity and skill that is unstoppable. Being able to express myself through a beautiful unique one of a kind piece or pieces of art is what I have always strived for. Being able to work with my passion is what keeps me happy. I think my passion and experience shows through my work. I love what I do and am happy to be able to share it with others that are just as appreciative."""

When the studio art glass movement began on the West Coast during the mid 80s, Lyn Gentry was there. In San Francisco she studied design and technique with the founder of light painting, Narcissus Quagliata. As glass technique began to merge into home design, Gentry expanded into architectural glass light paintings that catch, diffuse, and distribute light in vibrant colors and patterns.

Lyn Gentry has been recognized from New Orleans to Key West, and has won numerous awards for her ability to reshape raw glass and create light-catching brilliant sculptures. She can create anything from a light switch plate to an elaborate double door stained glass panel.

In the most recent phase of my life, I hopped the state line to teach art at Allen County-Scottsville High School in Scottsville, KY and received my Master's Degree in Art Education at Western Kentucky University. I was at the high school for 16 years, retiring, as some people called it, in June 2008. During the last 7 or so years while there, I became an adjunct for Volunteer State Community College in Gallatin, TN, teaching Art Appreciation. After leaving the high school, teaching an Intro Ceramics course was added. Teaching high school reintroduced me to ceramics. The art room had three potter's wheels, a pug mill and a kiln, and it had been at least twenty-five years since I had taken ceramic courses while acquiring my undergraduate degree. Needless to say, much research and self-education was done.

The original influence on my ceramic weaves was from a former high school art student, Crystal Bonneau, (now Crystal Bonneau-Kaya.) I watched her struggling with coils, attempting to weave something, anything. Coils broke. Patience waned. Her interest diminished. Mine peaked. Several years later when my studio was built, weaving clay was top on my "to-do" list. That list hasn't changed.

"Born and raised in New York, Joan graduated with a BGA in Metalsmithing from Tyler School of Art, Temple University. Joan Z. Horn Metalwork premiered in 1990. Joan's husband Burt, and familyt Abby, Zach and Max know they can usually find her in the studio. Cleo, her cat, keeps her company. In the studio, Joan hand fabricates each piece of jewelry. She creates individual elements from Sterling Silver and 14K gold, using traditional and innovative hand tools. The metal starts out as flat sheet, round, square and flat wire, and tubing. Individual elements are soldered together using an acetylene/oxygen torch. Pieces are enhanced with fresh-water pearls & semi-precious stones, making color combinations with Garnet, Blue Topaz, Citrine, Peridot, Iolite and Amethyst. Joan's jewelry pieces are studies in line, color, and movement. "

"Fred Imhoff has been working with glass since 1998 and holds a glass sculpture degree from California State University Chico. Imhoff produces high quality work drawing on natural references and clean aesthetics to produce his unique line of pieces. Imhoff has studied with many great artists including Hank Adams, Lucio Bubacco, Joe Cariati, Ruth King,Robert Mickelsen, Milon Townsend and Dana Zamenchinikova. Fred Imhoff designs and produces all of his own work in his studio in Portland, Oregon. All work is created by blowing and sculpting lampworked glass. Silver is used for all chains and ear wire on his jewelry."