stempel_thomas

Tom Stempel Glass

Born and raised in Hawai’i, my glass training includes the University of Hawai’i and four different studios in the Honolulu area. During that time, I participated in many significant projects, such as the restoration of 125-year-old windows at St. Andrew’s cathedral. Throughout my training and apprenticeship in Hawai’i, I also maintained my own studio creating and installing both traditional and contemporary works for residential and commercial applications.

In pursuit of my goal of integrating metal and glass media for large scale projects, I moved to Seattle in 1994 to participate in its flourishing glass art community. I am fortunate to have worked with many talented artists across Seattle in six different studios, including that of Dale Chihuly.

Since moving to Seattle, I have owned & operated my own studio and currently I am one of the few artists working in larger-scale flat glass by blowing my own custom sheet glass. I am proud to count many significant installations across the Seattle area — including historically significant residences, contemporary homes, and popular coffee houses – creating site-specific lighting, entryways, windows and murals that evoke calmness, stateliness and mankind’s agency and commitment to living in our environments. Recently, I designed and built a new glass blowing facility adjacent to a foundry, so that I can conveniently work in both glass and bronze.

My perspective reflects a broad based worldview inspired from my life in Hawai’i, my travels throughout Europe, Asia, and Alaska. With my art, I hope to draw attention to a social statement and elicit a feeling, a sensation, a visual spark…anything for people to take away, absorb and hopefully perpetuate some sort of change in our social structure. In a sense, I am an information gatherer — working in the medium of glass and metal. Hopefully people will take part in it and enjoy the process.

–Tom–