J.R. Smith- Glass

J.R. Smith's blown cast glass pieces are a dialog between material, light, form and shadow. His art is part of an ongoing creative endeavor where sand, soda ash, and limestone merge into solid form.  Remarks the artist: "There's that element of surprise when you create a piece of glass art that has never before existed. By using the fluidity of the material, finished pieces become an inquiry into the mystery of self and nature."     

 J.R. graduated from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton Florida, then attended Penland School in North Carolina before becoming a Resident Artist at the University of Miami in Coral Gables Florida. It was there he also taught in the glass department. As a Resident Artist at the University of Miami, J.R. worked along side noted glass artists including Fritz Dreisbach, Mark Petrovic, the De La Torre's, Richard Jolley and Karen Willenbrink. At the university he was able to explore further the process of blowing into sand molds creating blown pieces with sculptural cast sides and bottoms.