David Russell

Eagerly seeking a career that utilized my hands and was not in the typical office setting, I found myself at the Penland School of Crafts in 1996. My studies first began in the iron forge and wood shop but quickly gravitated to the hot glass studio. It was there that I found the ultimate malleable material for a medium – hot glass. I was captivated by it and became determined to start down the long road of making beautiful objects from glass. After my first semester of glass studies with Bill Worcester, I was hired by Great Southern Glassworks in Asheville, N.C. While working for Great Southern I was fortunate enough to continue my studies at Penland with Jack Wax, Billy Bernstien, Jose Chardiet, Gianni Toso and Richard Rittter. I​n 1999 I was able to attend the Pilchuck glass school in Stanwood, WA. It was there that I studied with Czech glass master Petr Novotny. The time at Pilchick with Petr, Ivan Kubela and Borek Sipek truly broadened my glass horizons and solidified my love for ancient european glass, its techniques and its heritage.