John Gibbons

"I am inspired by the optical illusions of glass: how it can bend light to magnify colors and textures."

John Gibbons recreates the movement, colors, and creatures of the ocean in his glass artwork. He is known for transforming the beauty of cold northern coasts and warm tropical seas into the earthy tide pool greens and glowing aquas of glass. He creates vessels detailed with starfish clinging to the sides, turtles riding on optical waves, or starfish clustered together in a crown.

Gibbons uses unique metal hand tools to shape his glass artwork, some of which he welded himself, and a small handheld torch that pinpoints the heat to liquefy the glass and create small details. He layers organic color patterns underneath a thick layer of clear glass, making his sculptures appear as though they have just been pulled out of the ocean.

John Gibbons has been blowing glass for more than 13 years. He grew up making art in Northern California, encouraged by his father, a painter and glass collector. Gibbons earned a BFA in glass from California State University, Chico in 2009. He has studied with glass masters Pino Signoretto, Martin Janecky, and Benjamin Moore.