Glass Artist

Jeff Thompson is a native Oregonian who has been creating art in glass for over 10 years. The techniques he tends to employ are based in the traditional Italian style, with a strong sense of innovation and adaptation applied to those ancient methods. "The process of making art with hot-glass is dramatic, spontaneous and totally unique," says Jeff.

The studio, which was designed and built by Jeff in 2001, utilizes cutting-edge electric element technology to melt 350 lbs. of glass at a time. He has studied an array of glassblowing styles from old-world techniques to vacuum-encased sculpture.

"When I'm blowing glass there are infinite possibilities. Even in the course of creating a nice vase, the bubble of molten glass looks like it could have been a squat-shape bowl, or a skinny neck bottle, or a funky amoeba thing! Glassblowing is so delicate down to 1/10 of a second between success or a pile of 1000 shards on the floor. As challenging as glassblowing is, it is truly rewarding to have a sense of familiarity with this stuff, and yet it never fails to surprise me."

Whether Jeff is making solid-sculpture, blowing a vessel, or inventing new ways to melt architectural forms, he presents a broad range of styles, themes and ideas in his artworks, which can be found in fine art galleries and private collections across the country. Showing locally at Lava Gallery (inside Microsphere Computers, Inc.), Bend, OR

Contact Information
541-990-8624

Website: www.lavagallery.com