One of the earliest forms of art, glass making has been a tradition for more than 4000 years. What about this fascinating material has enchanted so many artists around the world? Glistening Glass of the Gulf Coast looks at the work of six local and two Italian artists who explore the diverse glass techniques while expressing their personal perspectives. 

Each exhibiting artist creates with a vision: at times introspective and often inspired by their natural environment. The richness of this exhibit lies in the diversity of techniques, styles, and inspiration of each glass worker.

The 4 techniques most used by our artists:

Torchwork (also known as flameworking or lampworking) is a form of glasswork that originally used the flame of oil-fueled lamps as a heat source while primarily using hand movements and tools to shape the molten glass. Modern artists use butane or natural gas-powered torches to a similar result.

Glass Fusing is a form of glasswork in which two or more pieces of glass are either tacked or blended together in temperatures between 1,300 and 1,500 °F.

Sculpture – A glass sculpture generally combines different techniques like lampworking and glass blowing in order to achieve a desired shape. Various glass pieces can be bonded together in order to create a sculpture. Artists also use different finishes and incorporate etching methods to enhance the appearance of the sculpture.

Blowing – This glass-working technique involves molten glass with a temperature ofaround 2000° degrees.This hot viscous glass can be used in glass blowing, sculpting, and casting into molds.

Work such as glass sculpture, hand blown bowls, vases, goblets, and ornaments are commonly made with hot glass from a furnace.

Clair Etzold

Clair Etzold has a BS degree in Social Sciences from the University of Central Florida and a BA degree in Chemistry from Augsburg College in St. Paul, MN, and has worked professionally as a chemist, but there was something missing in her life. She felt the need to “feed her soul” in addition to being able to “feed her body”, when the love for mosaic glass entered her life.  Her background in chemistry and the deep understanding of the processes involved in fusing glass into beautiful works of art brought it all together.

The shiny translucent features of glass amplify the vividness of the colors, and truly make Clair happy. She needs bright, happy colors in her life. Whether it’s glass, paint, or fabric. Her work is produced in her own kiln, and she finds it thrilling every time she opens her kiln to discover what has been created from glass, frit, and heat. Each of her glass creations is a truly unique work of art.

Clair shows her work at the Art House in Ocean Springs, MS and several festivals throughout the year. She has earned numerous awards for her fused glass.

Andy Katz

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Born October 10, 1971, in New Orleans, Louisiana, Andrew Katz attended High School at Metairie Park Country Day School. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1995 from the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, California. At USC he was introduced to welding and forging of steel. He interned in 1994 & 1995 with sculptor, Brad Howe in Los Angeles.

Upon graduation from college, Andrew returned to New Orleans to focus on his sculpture career and soon began producing metal sculpture in his own studio. In 1998, Andy took Beginning and Intermediate Glass classes at Tulane with artist and professor, Gene Koss. The following semester he began assisting Koss with teaching classes and making sculpture. Soon Andrew was enrolled as an MFA student at Tulane Receiving his degree in Glass Sculpture in 2003.

Currently, he is working at both Glass Axis in Columbus Ohio and his own studio designing and building sculpture and decorative glass objects.

Marco and Mattia Salvadore

Studio Salvadore

Brothers that learned from their father, famed glass artist Davide Salvadore. Born in Murano, an Italian island known for its glass tradition, the Salvatore brothers come from a family of glassblowers that goes back over eight generations. The Salvatore name is known for their unique glass art technique called murrine. Murrine involves combining different color canes of raw glass and creating colorful patterned medallions that are then melted into a larger piece. Texture, dynamic movement and exquisite composition are some of the characteristics of their glass work.  

Andrew Jackson Pollack

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Born in 1979, in Atlanta, Georgia, Andrew Jackson Pollack has been an artist all his life.  Raised by parents involved in the arts, he was introduced to ceramics & glass at an early age. He began making & marketing his first beads of polymer clay at the age of 14 and discovered his love for glass when he moved to New Orleans to attend Loyola University in 1997, graduating from Loyola in 2001 with a B.A. in Communications & Visual Arts.  Shortly after moving to New Orleans he enrolled himself in glassblowing classes at the New Orleans School of Glassworks and Printmaking Studios, one of the largest non-profit educational facilities dedicated primarily to glass art in the South.

Though predominately self-taught in glass, he has received numerous scholarships to prestigious centers such as Penland School of Crafts, in Spruce Pines, NC, & The Studio at the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, NY.  Andrew has studied with some of the top artists of his field & served on the faculty of the New Orleans School of Glass for 10 years.

Andrew works out of his own studio and teaches through Yaya Creative Glass, in Mid-City.  Through both teaching and creating art full time he has devoted himself to the exploration of glass for the past ten years.  Andrew’s style & technique are very much his own, allowing him to create unique sculptural & functional works of art.

Teri Walker & Chad Ridgeway (Ridgewalker Glass)

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Teri Walker

Teri began her creative life in her hometown of Toronto, Canada. First, she took painting and drawing classes at the Art Gallery of Ontario, followed by the Ontario College of Art and Design, and glass courses at the Harbourfront Glass Studios. Teri spent a year painting in Florence, Italy as well as a year in the Masters Program at the Rhode Island School of Design. She has taken classes at Corning in New York, Espace Verre in Montreal and the Pittsburgh Glass Center. She has traveled all over Canada and the U.S. teaching glass, sculpture, and participating in workshops, residencies, and work-study programs. In 1997, Teri arrived in New Orleans and became an artist in residence at the New Orleans School of Glassworks and an instructor soon after. For twenty years, she has created whimsical one-of-a-kind animals and birds, Mardi Gras Indians, figures, skeletons, gargoyles, and fancy glasses. One of her most noted, ongoing commission projects have been the glass awards for the Mardi Gras Indian Hall of Fame, held each year in New Orleans.

Chad Ridgeway

Chad’s beginnings as an artist started when he was a teenager. His grandfather introduced him to the art of glass bead making. Additionally, he played around with welding equipment he discovered on his father’s plumbing truck.

In 2000, he experienced his first year-long stretch in New Orleans as a cook, working the trenches of French Quarter restaurants. Eventually, he landed at Emeril Lagasse’s famed establishment, Delmonico however, this was short-lived. Opportunities beckoned in Paris, France. It is there that Chad spent 8 years working his way through several chef positions. Unfortunately, he grew tired of the long hours so he began the process of reinventing himself as an artist. Eager to make a fresh start, he found a way to put a studio together and began teaching himself how to fabricate metal. But that’s not all the art gods had in mind…

Chad met the love of his life through a mutual friend and she happened to be a glass artist. Teri persuaded him to return to New Orleans, where she began teaching him the basics of glass. The learning curve was so steep, Chad neglected his metalwork for a few years. Gradually, as his skills improved, he learned to combine glass and metal, allowing the art duo to create more complex sculptures.

Together, Teri and Chad have taught glass at B&A Glass Studio in Dallas, Texas, The Red Barns in Picton (Prince Edward County, Canada), and Glen Williams Glass in Ontario. They even had an opportunity to blow glass one summer at a temporary kiosk overlooking Niagara Falls! After Teri and Chad married in 2009, they decided to live and raise a family in New Orleans, but committed to spending their summers traveling, teaching, and doing residencies. Their partnership led to combining artistic skills in blown/sculpted glass, metal sculpture, furniture, & light fixtures, resulting in Ridgewalker Glass.

Jerry Spehr

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From Jerry’s website: “There’s something about the water that draws and fascinates me.  When I create a work inspired by water’s movement and beauty, I feel calm, peaceful; I get a sense of happiness and satisfaction.”

Jerry Spehr is a blossoming glassblower living in Ocean Springs Mississippi.  Best known for his use of movement, his work is often influenced by his love of the ocean.

Jerry discovered his glassblowing talents within the last several years.   Jerry has studied at the Corning Museum of Glass; worked and studied briefly in Murano, Italy and recently completed an intensive work/study course with Davide Salvadore, a renowned 11th generation  Italian glassblower.

The Spehrs have lived in Ocean Springs since Jerry volunteered to serve in the Air Force during Operation Desert Storm, where he was stationed at Keesler Air Force Base.

Jerry’s greatest satisfaction is when one of his pieces brings a smile to someone’s face.